Marathi and Hindu inseparable: Fadnavis doubles down pitch for Mumbai Mayor (IANS Interview) 

Mumbai, Jan 14 (IANS) “If a Tamilian can become Chennai Mayor, a Gujarati can become Ahmedabad Mayor, a Telugu Hyderabad Mayor and a Punjabi as Punjabi Mayor then why in Maharashtra’s Mumbai, a Marathi can’t become its mayor,” asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday, staunchly defending his pitch for Marathi-Hindu mayor in the upcoming BMC elections.  

He stated that Marathi and Hindu can’t be segregated into two, as both are inseparable, and hence, after the BJP sweeps the municipal elections in Mumbai, a Marathi-Hindu person will become its next Mayor.

The elections for 29 municipal corporations in the state, including the BMC, are slated for Thursday.

In an exclusive interview with IANS, the Maharashtra CM spoke on a wide spectrum of issues ranging from Uddhav Thackeray’s blatant minority appeasement, Mamata’s interference in ED probe, Annamalai’s controversial statement and also addressed issues of flattening illegal religious structures, including madrasas. He also informed about a 'software in the making' to expel illegal Bangladeshi migrants from the state, and how this will expedite the deportation process.

IANS: You campaigned aggressively for municipal elections, addressing public gatherings and poll rallies. How challenging is the civic body contest for the BJP?

Devendra Fadnavis: Like any other election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken Maharashtra civic body polls earnestly and sincerely, and that is evident from the party’s preparation for the impending elections. Our candidate selection has been extensive and all-encompassing as nominees have been picked from every section, ranging from vegetable sellers to PHD holders, and teachers to researchers to doctors and scientists.

Our campaign was not limited to political interests but was aimed at the larger public good, with the motto of “sabka saath, sabka vikas”. We conducted open public interviews, organised roadshows to convey the message to the people that growth and development were above all poll planks, and this is what the BJP will deliver if voted to power.

Region-specific issues dominated the BJP’s canvassing at the hustings. Our leaders pointed at localized and specific problems plaguing any region and also shared the party’s roadmap to address them in a time-bound manner.

Because of this, people are feeling connected with the BJP. I have no hesitation in saying that we will sweep the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election and other municipal bodies in Maharashtra. Out of 29 civic bodies, MahaYuti will march to victory in 26-27 of them, and you will see Mayors in these municipalities from BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP.

IANS: You said that the BJP and its allies campaigned on developmental issues. But, the campaign got vitiated with narratives around ‘hijab, khan-pathan'. Your rivals blame you for this. Will the BJP and its alliance partners own it?

Devendra Fadnavis: We only reciprocated their charges. We didn’t want the civic elections to get emotionally charged, and hence ensured that we didn’t digress from the real issues of development.

Development was our sole and solitary agenda. Those who ruled the civic bodies for over two decades have nothing to boast about in terms of development.

For us, the slew of developmental projects speaks for itself. From coastal roads to Sea Link to Atal Setu to Navi Mumbai airport to tunnels to vast stretches of Metro rail and road network, we centred our campaign on these things.

They had nothing to brag about despite 25 years of reign. They only tried to mislead people and shift the discourse from development to trivial issues.

In fact, I pitched the idea of rewarding those who could show Uddhav Thackeray talking about development during election rallies. Starting from Rs 1,000 prize money, I took it to Rs 7,000, but he never talked about development.

Instead of making development a poll plank, he introduced a divisive agenda by claiming that Marathis and Muslims will together elect a Mumbai Mayor.

We said that Marathi people and Hindus are the same; you can’t differentiate the two. Hindus will stay together. Mumbai Mayor will indeed be Marathi as it can’t be segregated from Hindu.

IANS: Why should the Mumbai mayor be a Marathi only?

Devendra Fadnavis: Let me put it differently and explain why the Mumbai Mayor must belong to the Marathi community.

If a Tamilian can become Mayor in Chennai, a Gujarati can become Mayor in Ahmedabad, a Telugu can become Mayor in Hyderabad, a Punjabi can become Mayor in Punjab, then why in Maharashtra’s Mumbai, a Marathi can’t become its mayor?

IANS: Is the Shiv Sena decaying under Uddhav Thackeray? Is the coming together of the Thackeray brothers their fight for existence? And, will Raj Thackeray be the biggest loser in this alliance?

Devendra Fadnavis: Both brothers are losing their ground in the state, and they are desperately trying to regain the lost space. They thought that they would win elections by joining hands, but failed to assess that the Marathi people are neither narrow-minded nor myopic in their approach. Marathis have a long-term vision, and they are standing firmly with us.

Despite their frantic and desperate attempts to regain their lost ground, they will get nothing. They claim that they came together to fight for saving Marathi pride, but I say that this is a fight for their own and the party’s existence.

IANS: Will Raj Thackeray factor give a fillip to Uddhav’s politics?

Devendra Fadnavis: There may be an initial psychological advantage, but not much of this will translate into electorate arithmetic. It won’t have an impact on electoral equations. My own assessment is that Raj Thackeray and his party will be the biggest losers, as Uddhav may draw some advantage from this alliance, but the former has nothing to gain from it.

IANS: Ajit Pawar is contesting separately from MahaYuti in many places. There are also talks of Supriya Sule joining the cabinet. What do you have to say?

Devendra Fadnavis: Ajit Pawar-led NCP and BJP are contesting against each other in Pimpri-Chinchwad. Firstly, we had announced in advance that the BJP and its allies would contest elections in some civic bodies against each other as they are the ones ruling the municipality or sitting in Opposition.

Also, we had agreed on friendly fights in some of these municipal elections, but at some point, Ajit Dada became ‘unfriendly’, in response to which we were forced to take a stand.

He made some uncomfortable statements against us, but we didn’t respond as we believe that our work will speak for itself.

As far as Supriya Sule is concerned, there is neither any proposal nor any conversation.

IANS: Nitesh Rane has talked about throwing illegal Bangladeshis out of Maharashtra. Also, madrasas are facing a crackdown for alleged encroachment. If the BJP gains power on its own, will the illegal madrasas be razed?

Devendra Fadnavis: In the last one year, an unprecedented number of illegal Bangladeshi nationals living in Mumbai and other cities have been picked up and deported, with the help of the Indian government.

This drive will intensify further in the coming weeks and months.

Bangladeshi nationals enter the nation, sneaking from the Bengal border and then infiltrate other states. Since they get fake documents made in Bengal and are also difficult to differentiate, we are working on a mechanism for wide-scale repatriation.

We have collaborated with IIT-Bombay to develop a tool to identify and isolate Bangladeshi nationals. The project is in the final stages with 60 per cent accuracy. After achieving 100 per cent accuracy in the next two-three months, we will intensify the drive and deport all illegal Bangladeshis.

IANS: Will bulldozers act against madrasas?

Devendra Fadnavis: All illegal structures will be demolished, whatever they are.

IANS: Prithviraj Chavan, in a recent interview with IANS, asked whether US President Donald Trump will abduct PM Modi next, like Venezuelan President? What will you say on this?

Devendra Fadnavis: Prithviraj Chavan is a seasoned politician and has rich experience, having worked in many capacities, including as Chief Minister and in the Prime Minister’s office. When a leader of his stature makes such a careless statement, this makes one feel pity over it.

In anyone’s political life, one does feel suffocated and frustrated due to a repeated string of failures, but it is the responsibility of senior leaders to exercise restraint and steer the party in the right direction.

Such 'reckless' behaviour by a leader not only makes a mockery of oneself but also puts the country in a spot, giving its rivals a handle to embarrass it. Pakistan TV channels are quick to latch on to such controversies and play them up to paint the country in a bad light. This only weakens the nation’s standing on a global stage.

Hence, no one should make such utterances even if overwhelmed with defeats and failures.

IANS: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee got into a direct confrontation with the ED while the latter probed money laundering at a private office. Is there any hidden motive behind this? How do you see this?

Devendra Fadnavis: According to the Indian Constitution, all the institutions have their defined roles. Federal investigative agencies have been entrusted with powers of conducting probe in any region, and any state government or any Chief Minister can’t intervene in this. If someone has any objection, they can move to court, but can’t stop agencies from doing their work.

This is grossly illegal, and, going by the law, action could be initiated against her, and according to the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), such interference could be seen as criminal liability.

This is also constitutionally illegal because such theatrics amount to stalling and throttling the work of a federal body.

IANS: Does this show TMC’s frustration? Is Mamata dispensation worried over elections, as the BJP performed exceedingly well in previous polls?

Devendra Fadnavis: Mamata Banerjee and her party are surely anxious and worried. They are frightened of TMC’s prospects in the upcoming polls. Bengal CM has maintained silence over atrocities on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh. If she continues this policy of giving refuge to Bangladeshis and wins elections on their support, certainly, there will be a strong backlash from Bengal residents.

IANS: K. Annamalai, one of the BJP’s star campaigners in Maharashtra, courted controversy with his remarks and invited harsh rather vitriolic condemnation from Raj Thackeray. What will you say on this?

Devendra Fadnavis: This is utterly wrong. Annamalai termed Mumbai as Bombay, but this was without any intent. Many cities, including Chennai, have been known by other names for over five decades. Therefore, to accuse someone of insulting Mumbai by merely calling it Bombay is a frivolous charge.

Moreover, Annamalai clearly said that Mumbai doesn’t belong to Maharashtra alone, as it is an international metropolitan city and it has international repercussions. Giving it a different twist is wrong.

IANS: BJP claims that Uddhav Thackeray has abandoned Hindutva. What is your view? Also, how relevant is Kejriwal’s politics in Maharashtra politics?

Devendra Fadnavis: Mumbai bomb blasts accused take part in Uddhav Thackeray’s electoral rally, Pakistani flags are waved in his public rallies, and now his partymen are visiting mosques to tell them that the loudspeakers that were removed will be installed again, if his party comes to power.

What all this shows. We firmly believe in Hindutva and stand by all those who align themselves with India’s civilizational history and consider all of them to be Hindus.

We can’t accept the licking of the feet of minorities, Muslims to be precise, by Uddhav’s men and still boast about its Hindutva roots.

Uddhav Thackeray’s party has gone completely against its patriarch, Balasaheb Thackeray and is openly engaging in minority appeasement, a principle that the Sena founder stood against vehemently.

This shows that they have completely abandoned Hindutva.

As far as Arvind Kejriwal is concerned, he is irrelevant in Maharashtra politics. He and his party have been exposed; he has no standing in these polls.

IANS: Your comments on 68 candidates getting elected unopposed ahead of civic polls, as the Opposition accuses you of using money and muscle power?

Devendra Fadnavis: Such a condition arose because parties couldn’t find contesting nominees in those constituencies. And, it’s not only from the MahaYuti, but a couple of others have also been elected unopposed.

This shows their inability to connect with the masses and also their failure to enthuse candidates who could throw up a challenge.

IANS: Sanjay Raut objected to your recent Hindi speech, accusing you of demeaning the Marathi language. What are your views?

Devendra Fadnavis: Speaking in any language is my choice. Speaking in any language, either in Hindi, English, or any other language, doesn’t mean demeaning or insulting Marathi. Marathi language is my mother tongue, but all other languages of the country deserve respect.

They should clarify their own double standards on the Marathi language. They brag and boast about Marathi pride, but none of their children have studied in Marathi medium schools; they went to English schools. They must walk the talk first, before preaching to others.

--IANS

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