It's a nano morcha, says Fadnavis after MVA allies hold mass protest

Leaders and workers of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress had started gathering near the J J Hospital since morning. Credit: Special Arrangement

Hours after the morcha of opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis ruling alliance on Saturday described it as a “nano morcha” and indicating a rift among the three parties.

“It's a nano morcha…have you seen a drone shot? No such footage was there, but we had close ups shots,” Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.

“We had told them to assemble at the Azad Maidan and do the morcha, but they said no as they would get exposed. Instead they chose to hold it on a narrow road,” said Fadnavis.

Fadnavis said that the MVA morcha has no issues at all and that it was just a political gathering of three parties. “The three parties (NCP-Congress-Shiv Sena) put all their strength but could not gather a crowd,” he said.

Read | MVA allies take out massive 'Halla Bol' protest march against Eknath Shinde government

On the Maharashtra-Karnataka boundary issue, he said that it is a 60 year old issue and it is solely Congress that is responsible for the problem.

On Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray’s charge that there are plans to divide Mumbai, he said: “His cassette gets stuck at the same point for the last 10 years….he has not made any new point in the rally.”

Babasahebanchi Shiv Sena spokesperson Krishna Hegde said: “Seemed like a morcha of two parties (Shiv Sena and NCP) as Congress leaders, workers, and flags seemed to be missing.”

"The government of Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis is running like a bullet train, the agenda is development… The morcha is out of fear. They are now out of the government. In 2024 they would lose badly," state BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule said.