Sharad Pawar taunts Shiv Sena, BJP, says none of them will quit Maharashtra govt

Taking a dig at the ruling allies BJP and Shiv Sena over their constant bickering, NCP supremo on Wednesday said none of the two parties will quit the coalition government in Maharashtra.

Mumbai: Taking a dig at the ruling allies BJP and Shiv Sena over their constant bickering, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said none of the two parties will quit the coalition government in Maharashtra and they will continue to be at the helm despite the ongoing squabbles between them.

Pawar also clarified that the NCP would not give support to the BJP now, although his party had extended its support to BJP after the Maharashtra Assembly polls last year.

The NCP chief's comments come a day after Shiv Sena dared BJP to walk out of power in Maharashtra if the latter was bored of its brand of "nationalism" and "patriotism", which once again brought to fore the fissures in the alliance between the two saffron parties.

"Both the parties (BJP and Sena) will keep abusing each other and calling each other names but none of them will opt out of power. Both will try to run the government in the current circumstances," Pawar said.

"When we first offered support to the BJP, we did so only so that Maharashtra could have a stable government in place. But, seeing the work of the government in the last one year, we won't extend any further support now," he added.

Before BJP sealed a power-sharing deal with Shiv Sena after the Assembly polls last year, the NCP had offered support to BJP to form the government.

Pawar added that people of Maharashtra desperate for the days under the Congress and the NCP rule. "If people were going through bad days during our rule, they want those bad days back after seeing the kind of work the present government has done for them," he said referring to BJP's 'acche din' slogan.

Pawar said the Sena had a lot of self respect under the leadership of late Bal Thackeray, but has now lost its sheen.

"The Sena had self respect during Bal Thackeray's times, which is not the case now. Times have changed. When Bal Thackeray said something, he ensured that he kept his words. This doesn't happen now," he said.