Pune: Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said that the time has come for all like-minded political parties to come together against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
He said that when the Congress and the NCP jointly organised a march seeking a loan waiver for farmers, the results were good. But it is not clear whether the NCP is in the opposition or supporting the ruling BJP, he added.
He said that although he has political differences with NCP chief Sharad Pawar, he agrees with his appeal to all political parties to unite against the BJP. Chavan was speaking at an interview in the city after inaugurating the new office of Maharashtra Media on Tuesday evening.
He said the Modi government has completed more than 40 months, but beyond giving hollow promises it has done nothing. He pointed out that the Congress failed to grab the opportunity to generate public opinion against the government by taking to the streets on public issues.
Replying to a question, the former chief minister said that during the earlier saffron government, the Shiv Sena cheated on the BJP and kept the important home ministry with it. This mistake was committed by the Congress when the Congress-NCP government came to power in 1999.
“Had the home ministry been with the Congress, the picture in the state would have been different,” Chavan said, without clarifying exactly what the picture would have been.
Chavan said the Congress is a big political party, but it is difficult for it to sustain separately in politics without forming an alliance with other parties. He admitted that the Congress lacks strong leadership and that would help the BJP to come to power in 2019.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi only speaks but does nothing and he is a master in elocution, but for the past few months his tall claims are being questioned on the social media,” he said.