Srinagar: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is on a trip to Jammu and Kashmir, on Sunday took a dig at Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) for its 'preference' of dynastic politics which, he said, is also applicable to Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray faction.
Shinde said he came to meet Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha in Srinagar on a courtesy call. He handed over a letter to Sinha with a request for land for Maharashtar Bhavan in Jammu, a statement from Shinde's office confirmed.
Though Shinde did not directly mention anything about the 'power tussle' that has reportedly surfaced in the NCP, he likened the NCP's situation with that of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction.
"What can I say? All is before your eyes to see. Just like Uddhav Thackeray became Chief Minister of Maharashtra after his father Balasaheb Thackeray's death, NCP chief Sharad Pawar offered plum posts to his family members," Shinde said.
When asked about the purpose of his Srinagar visit, Shinde said he was invited by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. "I came to visit Vaishno Devi and decided to visit Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on a courtesy call after he sent me an invite," Shinde said. He also said the maximum number of infrastructure projects are coming up in Maharashtra which is poised for more development in the coming days.
When asked about Home Minister Amit Shah's target for next year's Lok Sabha polls, he said Shah was right in fixing election targets in Maharashtra which is witnessing a boom in infrastructure development. Shinde praised the BJP-led central government's decision to scrap Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, which he said, gave a leg-up to infrastructure projects in the region. He, however, refused to comment on political uncertainty in Maharashtra. Shinde urged him to provide land in Srinagar to set up 'Maharashtra Bhavan'. The chief minister said the Maharashtra Bhavan will help promote cultural exchange and boost the economy through tourism activities. Shinde said it will help showcase Maharashtra's art, culture and food in Kashmir.
