MUMBAI: NCP chief Sharad Pawar has asked young MLAs of Maha Vikas Aghadi to fiercely counter the "false narrative" of the BJP both within and outside the House, the party's Maharashtra unit chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said on Friday.
Pawar also told the MLAs the MVA government, comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, will complete its term and get reelected in the 2024 polls as people have faith in the alliance, Tapase informed.
Pawar made the remarks when eight young MVA legislators, including Minister of State Aditi Tatkare, Rohit Pawar, Atul Benke, Ashutosh Kale and Indranil Naik (of NCP); Dhiraj Deshmukh and Ruturaj Patil (Congress) and Yogesh Kadam (Shiv Sena), met him at his residence here on Thursday.
Pawar recalled the days when the latter was a young leader and compared the relationship between the state government and the opposition then and now, Tapase said.
"He advised the young leaders to fiercely counter the false narrative set by the opposition both within and outside the House. Pawar saheb assured the young leaders that the government will complete its full term," Tapase said.
Pawar asked the MLAs to focus on development works in their constituencies and take up citizens' issues with the government.
"The young leaders promised to effectively combat the BJP not only in their own constituencies, but also in their respective districts and regions, Tapase said.
Meanwhile, Union Minister of State Raosaheb Danve on Friday claimed that at least 25 disgruntled MLAs of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition in Maharashtra were ready to boycott the ongoing Budget session of the state legislature.
Several MVA MLAs were also in touch with the BJP and many will join it once elections draw near, he told reporters here.
"As many as 25 legislators of the MVA were ready to boycott the Budget session. But somehow they were dissuaded by offering some help (by MVA leaders). Let elections come, they will join BJP one by one," the BJP leader said.
The MVA, a coalition of the Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress, was formed after the Sena parted ways with the BJP following the 2019 Assembly elections.
Danve also hit out at the Sena, alleging that it had deviated from its Hindutva ideology.
The party got votes in 2019 polls due to prime minister Narendra Modi, but afterwards it stabbed the BJP in the back, he said.
"Today's Shiv Sena is not the Sena of Balasaheb Thackeray, it is a Sena of Uddhav Thackeray and Abdul Sattar (a state minister)," the Union minister said.
He was present during seat-sharing talks at `Matoshree', the Thackeray family residence, between BJP leaders Amit Shah, Devendra Fadnavis, Ashish Shelar and Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray before 2019 polls, Danve said.
There was no discussion about chief minister's post then, he added, refuting the Sena's claim that the two allies had agreed to rotate the post.
Asked about Sena MP Sanjay Raut's statement about the Union government `misusing' central agencies such as CBI and Enforcement Directorate to harass MVA leaders, Danve denied the allegation.