Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Tuesday said the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has split under its weight and clarified neither the BJP nor the Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra has anything to do with the rebellion in the Sharad Pawar-led outfit.
Events surrounding the 24-year-old NCP have taken place in the natural political course, said the senior BJP leader.
In a sudden development, NCP leader Ajit Pawar joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra on Sunday as deputy chief minister along with eight other party MLAs who also took oath as ministers. NCP president Sharad Pawar has denounced their action.
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"The latest political situation in Maharashtra has arisen naturally. The state government or the BJP has no role in it. The NCP broke up under its weight. When such a political situation arises, then being the largest party, the BJP plays the role that is expected from it," Tomar told PTI when asked about the developments in the Pawar-led outfit.
Tomar along with Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Madhya Pradesh Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan were in Bhopal to attend a meeting of the BJP's core committee.
Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh are due by the year-end.
To a question on enacting a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and the ruling party raising the issue ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP leader maintained it is not a poll-related matter.
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“We were in favour of a Ram Temple (in Ayodhya) and we are building it, we opposed Article 370 (which provided special status to J&K) and we have abrogated it. Similarly, we thought that instant triple talaq was an injustice to women and so we have outlawed it.
"Everybody in the country is in favour of a UCC and even the Supreme Court has given directions on it. The government will act on the issue at an appropriate time,” said Tomar.
Criticising parties opposing the UCC, the Union minister said, “They don't want anything that establishes equality and harmony in society."
