Maharashtra polls: Fadnavis, Ajit clash over 'batenge toh katenge' slogan
What's the story
A political rift has developed between Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and his Mahayuti colleague Devendra Fadnavis over the "batenge toh katenge" slogan.
The slogan, which was introduced by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during a rally, is criticized for its alleged communal undertones.
Pawar, a member of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), openly disapproved of the slogan's use in Maharashtra recently, saying, " It will not work in Maharashtra."
Accusation
Fadnavis accuses Pawar of being influenced by secular ideologies
Fadnavis has now hit back at Pawar's disapproval, implying that his colleague's opinions are still influenced by past associations with secular ideologies.
"Ajit Pawar stayed with such ideologies—which are secular and anti-Hindu—for decades," Fadnavis said.
"These people either did not understand the sentiment of the public or did not understand the meaning of this statement or while speaking they probably wanted to say something else," he added.
Internal disagreement
BJP leaders express differing views on controversial slogan
Notably, the controversy over the slogan has also exposed cracks within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Pankaja Munde, a BJP leader, said she wouldn't support the slogan even though she belonged to the same party.
Ashok Chavan, who recently joined the BJP from Congress, also slammed the slogan as irrelevant and distasteful.
These contrasting opinions have been leveraged by opposition parties to question BJP's stand on unity vs division.
Slogan defense
Senior BJP leader defends both slogans amid controversy
The slogan was recently tweaked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "ek hai to safe hai."
Pawar, who is the national president of the NCP, said that there is nothing wrong with this slogan, beacuse "if the country is united, it is safe."
The controversy comes as Maharashtra gears up to vote on November 20 for its 288 assembly seats with results due on November 23.