JALNA: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said on Thursday that spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had given him blessings and told him that he would succeed when he and other rebel Shiv Sena MLAs were camping in a Guwahati hotel.
Shinde was speaking at a farmers' gathering organized by Ravi Shankar's Art of Living Foundation at Watur village in central Maharashtra's Jalna district. The spiritual leader was also present on the dais.
In his speech, Shinde said that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar supports good work. "Let me tell you something. When we were in Guwahati," he said.
The mention of Guwahati evoked laughter from the audience, forcing the CM to pause. "Then Gurudev-ji had given me blessings over phone. We told him that we have launched a battle. He said very good, keep doing good work, you will succeed. Gurudev-ji supports those who are doing good work," the chief minister said.
Shinde and a majority of Shiv Sena MLAs rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray's leadership in June 2022.
The rebel MLAs stayed in a hotel in Guwahati, more than 2,000 km away from Mumbai, for a week, triggering the fall of the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
Shinde formed the next government in the state in alliance with the BJP.
The chief minister also said that his government will actively support the Jaltara water conservation project of the Art of Living Foundation.
He also claimed that the Marathwada water grid and other irrigation projects in central Maharashtra undertaken by the earlier BJP-Shiv Sena government were stopped by the MVA regime.
"But now we have restarted these projects," Shinde said.
After coming to power, his government allowed the resumption of all religious festivals which had been banned (on account of the coronavirus pandemic), the chief minister said.
Festivals are necessary as they provide solace and mental peace, he added.
Ravi Shankar in his speech appealed to farmers to keep suicidal thoughts away.
Sorrow and happiness are part of life and suicide is not a solution to any problem, he added.
Marathwada and eastern Maharashtra had seen a spate of farmer suicides in the recent past.
The spiritual leader, meanwhile, also stressed the need to favour organic farming and indigenous products.
Maharashtra Industry Minister Uday Samant was also present at the program.