MUMBAI: Frictions are growing between the key constituents of the Mahayuti govt as state water supply minister Gulabrao Patil, who belongs to the Shiv Sena led by chief minister Eknath Shinde, targeted the finance department headed by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Friday, saying it was the "most worthless department in the govt".
While speaking at a function in Jalgaon, Patil said: "The finance department is the most worthless in the govt. I had sent a file to the department, and it was returned 10 times. Only negative remarks were given. But I did not give up and kept following up," he said.
The minister, who is known for being combative and outspoken, later said there were no differences within the cabinet.
It's not clear whether Patil was targeting finance dept officials who have been red-flagging the cash-strapped state's pre-election sops, including the Rs 46,000 crore Mukhya Mantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, or Pawar.
When Shinde had toppled the Maha Vikas Aghadi govt, one of the key grouses raised in his rebellion was that departments led by the Shiv Sena were being denied funds by the finance department controlled by Pawar.
Last week, Pawar found himself under attack from another Shiv Sena leader – state public health minister Tanaji Sawant. The minister said he had opposed Congress and NCP all his life. "I sit next to them in the cabinet, but after coming out, I vomit," Sawant had said.
Within BJP too, there are rumblings of discontent against Pawar, with many in the party feeling that bringing him into the Mahayuti alliance cost them seats in the Lok Sabha polls. Last month, a report published in Vivek, a Marathi weekly linked to RSS, blamed the alliance with Ajit Pawar for BJP's lacklustre performance in the Lok Sabha polls.
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