Mumbai, Oct 4 (IANS): Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wedneday claimed that the President’s Rule in 2019 was clamped in Maharashtra on the suggestion of Nationalist Congress President Sharad Pawar.

"The BJP and NCP were holding discussion for government formation at that time and President’s Rule was brought in on Sharad Pawar's behest,” said Fadnavis, addressing the India Today Conclave here.

He also claimed that Sharad Pawar told the BJP that it would be difficult for him to take an about-turn so soon, so the state should go under Central rule for some period.

Fadnavis also contended that Sharad Pawar said he would go on a tour of the state and built a narrative to justify the NCP joining with the BJP in the interests of a stable government in the state.

In a sharp rebuttal, NCP’s national spokesperson Clyde Crasto and chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase asked Fadnavis to stop living in the past (2019) and come down to the present (2023) and address the current problems like the hospital deaths in the state” and “stop the obsession with Sharad Pawar”.

Fadnavis said that when President’s Rule is implemented, all political parties are issued letters asking if they want to form the government, "and that letter" was typed in his home, along with corrections made by Sharad Pawar.

Later, Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, with Sharad Pawar’s concurrence discussed the cabinet details, but at the last minute, Pawar Sr. backtracked, claimed the BJP leader. However, Ajit Pawar stuck on as he felt that going back then would mean betrayal of the commitment made to the BJP, and that had resulted in the early-morning swearing-in of the two-men government then, but which collapsed in barely 80 hours.

In response, Crasto said: "Fadnavis is feeling left out in Maharashtra politics due to CM Eknath Shinde and Dy.CM Ajit Pawar. So to stay in relevance, he keeps misusing the name of India’s tallest leader Sharad Pawar… Feel sad for him."

Tapase pointed out that the decision to impose President’s Rule was taken by the Centre, and "any insinuation that it was influenced by Sharad Pawar is false and misleading", and all this is intended to confuse the masses.