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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis speaks to Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com
"I don't think there is any problem," Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told Rediff.com about the ongoing slugfest between Minister of State for Revenue Sanjay Rathod and his boss in the ministry, Eknath Khadse.
The Shiv Sena's Rathod has threatened to resign from the Fadnavis ministry, alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party's Khadse was sidelining him and not giving him enough work.
"Normally, it is the minister who delegates certain powers to the minister of state according to the rules of business, and whatever is being done is done in accordance with the rules of business," Fadnavis said.
While tension has been brewing between the Shiv Sena and BJP over allocation of ministries in Maharashtra, the Sena -- once the senior partner in the alliance, but now reduced to a diminished role based on its strength in the legislative assembly -- has been itching for a confrontation with the Fadnavis government after the BJP's abysmal showing in the Delhi elections.
The Sena's daily newspaper Saamna blamed the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah (Read Kejriwal and the art of stopping Modi-Shah) duo for the BJP winning only three seats in Delhi, from the 32 it won in the 2013 assembly election in the capital.
"If there are any issues (between the Cabinet and ministers of state), then the rules of business need to be amended," Fadnavis said, trying to put a lid on the controversy, hinting that Rathod could get some meaningful work in his ministry.
The chief minister also sounded positive about a solution to the regularisation of unauthorised floors of the Campa Cola Compound Residents' Association.
"Whatever can be regularised should be regularised. We took the same position in the Supreme Court and we feel that if this (regularisation) is in accordance with the law, we will try to regularise it," Fadnavis said.
Speaking on the contentious issue of foreign direct investment in the retail industry, the chief minister said his government would soon issue a new retail policy, which will be in accordance with central government policy, which currently permits 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail.
"Right now the issue of FDI does not arise because this state (Maharashtra) has already taken certain initiatives or certain decisions regarding that. It is (our retail policy) more about creating an ecosystem for the retail industry to grow," he said, without commenting on the extent of FDI the state will allow in the retail industry.
Image: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, left, with Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse.