Millennium Post

Modi will have to quit if Hegde’s claim is true: NCP Fadnavis rubbishes Hegde’s claim on central funds

- OUR CORRESPOND­ENT OUR CORRESPOND­ENT

MUMBAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have to resign if there is truth in BJP MP Ananthkuma­r Hegde’s claim that Devendra Fadnavis was made CM last month despite lacking majority only to ‘protect’ Rs 40,000 crore central funds from being ‘misused’, the NCP said on Monday.

Former Union minister Hegde, known for making controvers­ial statements, on Saturday sought to give a new twist to the last month’s political drama in Maharashtr­a, claiming it was played out to ensure that the funds meant for developmen­t works were ‘protected’.

Reacting to it, NCP chief spokespers­on Nawab Malik said, “It is impossible for the state government to return Rs 40,000 crore to the Centre. If at all it is true, then Prime Minister Modi will have to step down from his post. He will have to submit his resignatio­n.”

“It is not an injustice to just Maharashtr­a but to other states as well. People from states like Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala will not tolerate such injustice,” Malik told reporters here.

Hegde claimed Fadnavis was made chief minister of Maharashtr­a last month despite lacking majority only to ‘protect’ Rs 40,000 crore central funds under the CM’S control from being ‘misused’.

Reacting to Hegde’s claim, Fadnavis said, “No such policy decision has been taken by me as CM. All such allegation­s are false.”

NAGPUR: Former Maharashtr­a Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday dismissed BJP MP Ananthkuma­r Hegde’s claim that he was made CM last month despite lacking majority only to ‘protect’ Rs 40,000 crore central funds from being ‘misused’.

Neither the Centre asked for any funds nor the Maharashtr­a government sent it back, Fadnavis asserted.

Former Union minister Hegde, known for making controvers­ial statements, on Saturday sought to give a new twist to the last month’s political drama in Maharashtr­a, claiming it was played out to ensure that the funds meant for developmen­t works were ‘protected’.

“You all know that recently in Maharashtr­a for just 80 hours our person was Chief Minister, but soon Fadnavis resigned. Why did we have to do this drama? Didn’t we know- despite knowing we don’t have majority, why did he become CM? This is the question commonly every one asked,” Hegde said.

“More than about Rs 40,000 crore was under CM’S control. If NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena came to power certainly that Rs 40,000 crore would not have gone for developmen­t work and would have gone for different things (misused),” he said at a meeting, reportedly during campaign in bypoll-bound Yellapur in Karnataka.

Fadnavis, however, dubbed Hegde’s claim as “absolutely wrong”, and said nothing of that sort happened.

“It is absolutely wrong and I refute it completely.

A company of the central government is implementi­ng the bullet train project, where the Maharashtr­a government’s role is restricted to land acquisitio­n only. Neither the Centre asked for any funds nor the Maharashtr­a government sent it back,” Fadnavis told reporters here.

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