N agpur:Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Friday rubbished reports that ruling Mahayuti allies were in a race to claim credit over the safe return of people to the state from Kashmir following the Pahalgam terror attack, and said there was no discord in the alliance.
The minister’s remarks come in the wake of reports that the ruling BJP and Shiv Sena were in the race to claim credit with each party working independently to coordinate for the relief and rescue of the tourists stranded in Pahalgam.
Six tourists from Maharashtra were among the 26 persons killed in the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on Tuesday.
State Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday flew to Srinagar in a private aircraft to expedite the process of bringing back state tourists stranded in Jammu and Kashmir. A statement issued by his office said his visit to Kashmir highlights that whenever a tragedy strikes, Shinde is the first person to rush to help.
The same day, Maharashtra Disaster Management Minister Girish Mahajan also reached Srinagar to help tourists from Maharashtra stranded in Jammu and Kashmir return home safely.
A statement from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) on Thursday said the state government had arranged a special flight each of IndiGo and Air India. A total of 184 tourists have arrived in Mumbai, it said while not giving details of how other tourists returned.
When asked about reports of a credit battle among the Mahayuti allies over the return of the Maharashtra tourists from Pahalgam, Bawankule told reporters, “There is no rift or discord in government. There is no politics behind Deputy CM Eknath Shinde going to Srinagar to meet the tourists from Maharashtra there, nor is there any politics in Girish Mahajan’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir as he is the state disaster management minister.”
“We did not send other people (to Kashmir) to avoid much VIP movement over there. We are focused on bringing back over 3,000 tourists from Jammu and Kashmir. There is no politics or race to get credit for anything,” he added.
To a query over Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Srinagar on Friday to meet those injured in the Pahalgam terror attack, Bawankule said it was a good move by the Congress leader.
“All parties should come together and make the country strong,” he said.
Meanwhile, the revenue minister also said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has got 20 lakh houses sanctioned in Maharashtra under various housing schemes of the central government.
Efforts were now on to get 10 lakh more houses approved in the times to come, wherein 30 lakh houses will be constructed in the state in the next two years, he said.
