BJP, Shiv Sena would stay united: Fadnavis

Asserting that the BJP and Shiv Sena would stay united, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Wednesday said the resignation letters of Sena ministers now lie into the Sarayu river.

Fadnavis' reference to the sacred river came against the backdrop of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party's strong pitch for construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya and his recent visit to the temple town in Uttar Pradesh.

"With the Sena and BJP being together, the Congress-NCP combine will have to sit in Opposition for another 10 to 15 years," the chief minister said in the Legislative Assembly. He was responding to Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil's (Congress) dig at the Sena for its "silence" on the upcoming Nanar refinery and Sammriddhi corridor projects.

"Their (Sena's) resignation letters lie into the Sarayu river now. You don't worry. Both of us (Sena and BJP) are together and there is no need for any resignations," the chief minister said.

Looking in direction of Vikhe Patil, Fadnavis said, "Since we both are together, you stand no chance (to return to power). You will have to sit there (on Opposition benches) for another 10 to 15 years". Senior Sena leader Ramdas Kadam had famously said last year that he and his colleagues in the BJP-led government are carrying resignation letters in their pockets and waiting for the party chief's directions.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party has been opposing the Nanar refinery project on the grounds that it is against the interest of the farmers and would destroy ecology in Ratnagiri district in the coastal Konkan region.

The party had tried to stall acquisition of the farmland for the state government's flagship Samruddhi corridor project which envisages construction of a super-highway connecting Mumbai with Nagpur, a distance of over 700 kms.

(With inputs from agencies.)