Some BJP MLAs in touch with Cong, says Maha minister

Maharashtra minister and Congress leader Yashomati Thakur on Friday claimed that some of the 105 Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs in the state were in touch with her party and there would an 'earthquake' if their names were made public.

Hitting out at the opposition BJP over its 'lust for power' and 'dirty politics', Thakur said that Maharashtra has given a new formula to the country.

She also said that the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was stable.

In a video statement posted on Twitter, Thakur hit out BJP leader and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, saying that he was surrounded by the people who are outsiders.

She was referring to the leaders, who had quit the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party and joined the BJP ahead of the state Assembly polls held last year.

"This shows how weak they are. How many out of the 105 MLAs of the BJP have come from other parties? Do you have guarantee that they will always remain with the BJP? If the names of those from the 105 MLAs, who are in touch with the Congress, are revealed, there will be an earthquake!" she said.

Thakur criticised the BJP saying that despite having a majority government at the Centre, it was trying to destablise the governments led by other parties in the states.

"BJP's lust for power and dirty politics was seen in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and now Rajasthan," the minister for women and child welfare said.

"The Maharashtra government is stable. The state has given a new formula to the country and I feel it will be a success," she said.

The Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress had joined hands to form the government in Maharashtra in November last year after the Uddhav Thackeray-led party parted ways with the BJP over sharing of the chief minister's post.

No 'Operation Lotus' in Maha, says Fadnavis after meeting Shah

Meanwhile, Fadnavis on Friday said no 'Operation Lotus' was happening in Maharashtra as the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government will
collapse on its own due to its 'internal contradictions'.

Fadnavis made this statement while speaking to reporters in New Delhi, after a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The former Maharashtra chief minister claimed that his meeting with Shah was 'non-political' as it was aimed at seeking financial assistance for the sugar industry in the state.

He said he also briefed Shah about the coronavirus scenario in the state and sought time from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apprise him of the situation.

Talking about the meeting, Fadnavis said, "There was no political discussion. We are not interested in destabilising the state government... Time is now to fight coronavirus."

"There is no 'Operation Lotus' in Maharashtra...We have already said that the government is full of internal contradictions and when it falls because of it, we will see," he said.

'Operation Lotus' refers to the alleged attempts by the BJP to engineer defections from other parties.

The Leader of opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly also rejected the speculation that he was tipped to get a role in national politics.

When asked about leaders from western Maharashtra accompanying him to Delhi, he said they are associated with the sugar industry.

BJP leaders Harshvardhan Patil, Dhananjay Mahadik, Ranjit Sinh Mohite, MLA Jaykumar Gore, MP Ranjit Nimbalkar, and Vinay Kore of Jansurajya Shakti Party, an ally of BJP, accompanied Fadnavis during the meeting with Shah.