PUNE: Shiv Sena MLA and former Maharashtra minister Tanaji Sawant on Monday claimed there was a perception among his senior leaders that the party was getting "secondary" treatment in the ruling coalition headed by it and this was reflected in the recent state budget presented by finance minister Ajit Pawar.
He said it was because of the Shiv Sena that the NCP and the Congress came to power and but now they are doing "injustice" to the saffron outfit led by Uddhav Thackeray, who is heading the three-party Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government since November 2019.
Addressing party workers in Solapur, around 250km from here, Sawant claimed the departments headed by the NCP got 57 per cent to 60 per cent of the total allocations made in the budget for 2022-23.
Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, who also holds the finance portfolio, presented the budget in the Assembly on March 11.
He is a senior leader of the NCP, the second largest constituent in the Sena-led MVA government.
"There is a common mentality (thinking) among all senior leaders of the Shiv Sena, be it from Konkan, Western Maharashtra, Marathwada or Vidharba, that the party (Shiv Sena) is getting secondary treatment and the same was reflected in the state budget," said Sawant.
He claimed of the total budget, the NCP-led departments got 57 per cent to 60 per cent allocation, those headed by Congress ministers 30 per cent to 35, while the Shiv Sena's share in fund allotments was just 16 per cent.
"The higher and technical education portfolio is the with Shiv Sena, and of the 16 per cent allocations, 6 per cent is spent on salaries. What about allocation for development?," he asked.
Sawant said he gets calls from local Sena leaders from various districts in which they say even a gram panchayat member who is from the NCP manages to get project work worth over Rs 1 crore sanctioned under a particular scheme since the rural development department is headed by NCP minister Hasan Mushrif.
He said it is because of the Shiv Sena that the NCP and the Congress are in power in the state.
"We will not tolerate this (alleged injustice). We are just waiting for orders (from Sena president Uddhav Thackeray). Do not test our patience. We are silent only till the time we get orders (aadesh) from saheb (Thackeray)," Sawant asserted.
Earlier in the day, Ajit Pawar told reporters in Ratnagiri that the Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress are running the MVA government together under the leadership of Chief Minister Thackeray.
He made the remarks while replying to Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil's comment that the NCP is running the MVA government.