News Brief
(R to L) Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar. (Image via X)
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has reacted to another Deputy CM Ajit Pawar's remakrs that there is no place for Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath's slogan 'Batenge to katenge' in the state.
Fadnavis said that Pawar is unable to understand the public sentiment or the meaning of the UP CM's statement. He also gave Pawar the benefit of the doubt that there's a possibility that he might be trying to say something else.
"For decades, Ajit Pawar stayed with such ideologies which call themselves secular but are anti-Hindu. There is no real secularism amongst those who call themselves secularists. He has stayed with people for whom opposing Hindutva is secularism," Fadnavis said.
"Look at the history of this country. Whenever the country got divided into castes, provinces and communities, the country was enslaved. The country was cut and people too. That's why 'Batenge to katenge' has been our history," he explained.
Fadnavis also expressed surprise over objections raised against the call to get united. He accused the Muslim community of committing 'vote Jihad' during the 2024 Lok Sabha election and the involvement of their religious places in politics.
Fadnavis endorsed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's slogan 'Ek hain to safe hain' and said, "I called it a mahamantra because the PM has given this slogan to keep the society united. We can develop only when we are united," accusing Congress of dividing people.