Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has alleged that Amit Shah kept Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the dark over BJP's 50:50 agreement discussed with his party chief Uddhav Thackeray.
"In every public meeting, Narendra Modi said Fadnavis will be CM. But in every public meeting, Uddhav also said the CM will be from Shiv Sena. Why was Amit Shah silent at that time? Now he is saying something else," Sanjay Raut said on Thursday.
Sanjay Raut's comments came a day after Amit Shah rejected Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's claim that the BJP had agreed to share the CM's post with the ally, saying Prime Minister Modi many times and he "at least 100 times" had said in public during the assembly elections campaign that Devendra Fadnavis will head the government.
In response, Sanjay Raut said, "Had Shah informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about this decision of '50:50 formula' in time, we would not have been facing this situation today."
"We respect Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However what happened in the meeting between Amit Shah and Uddhav Thackeray, it's information was not given to him," Sanjay Raut said and wondered if Modi was kept away by top BJP leaders from the decision taken between the BJP and Shiv Sena over seat-sharing.
Sanjay Raut said Amit Shah and Thackeray had met at the latter's residence in Mumbai. "It was the drawing-room of late Balasaheb Thackeray, but for us it is a temple. The talks were held in the temple. If someone says no promises were made, it is an insult of the temple, Balasaheb Thackeray and Maharashtra," Raut said, and added that the room is a "holy place" for Shiv Sainiks.
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Hitting out at Amit Shah, Raut said, "When a promise made behind the closed door is not kept, then only it comes out. We never trade in politics nor we see politics from the angle of profit or loss. We are making it public because it is about our self-respect."
"Now Amit Shah saying closed-door meeting information cannot be divulged, we say don't fool the people of Maharashtra," Sanjay Raut added.
President's rule was imposed in the state on Tuesday after Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari sent a report to the Centre, stating that formation of a stable government was impossible in the current situation despite all his efforts.
The BJP and Shiv Sena, which fought the October 21 state polls in the alliance, secured a majority by winning 105 and 56 seats, respectively, in the 288-member Assembly.