Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde meets PM Modi in Delhi; targets Congress over Parliament protest

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New DelhiSpeaking to reporters in New Delhi after the meeting Shinde said that the students agitation at Jantar Mantar had ended after former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan accepted moral responsibility and resigned He alleged that the Opposition was now staging protests outside Parliament for political reasonsHe accused the Congress and other Opposition parties of using the students protest as a political tool to demand the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit ShahThe meeting between Shinde and the Prime Minister lasted for about an hour during which they discussed several issuesShinde targets UBT over Supreme Court caseResponding to questions on the ongoing Supreme Court hearing concerning the Shiv Sena name and symbol dispute Shinde criticised the Shiv Sena UBT leadershipHe questioned whether the party had faith in the judiciary claiming its leaders had earlier celebrated during court proceedings while alleging that the Mahayuti government was unconstitutionalShinde said former Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud had already clarified that the government was not unconstitutional He added that the previous Assemblys term had ended and criticised continued demands to disqualify MLAsWe have faith in democracy and in the judiciary Since the matter is sub judice I will not comment further Shinde saidGovernment ready for debateShinde said the Central Government was prepared to discuss the matter in Parliament but claimed the Opposition was avoiding debate and instead demanding Amit Shahs resignation outside the HouseHe alleged that while the student protest was under way the Congress had organised demonstrations outside the Prime Ministers residence as part of a political conspiracyThe students protest ended after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned The students have returned to their work but the Congress is continuing the agitation only to seek Amit Shahs resignation Shinde saidHe added that Prime Minister Modi had taken several important decisions for young people and had also engaged with them directlyDefends Amit ShahThe Deputy Chief Minister defended Amit Shah saying the Home Minister had played a key role in ending Leftwing extremism abrogating Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and tackling Pakistanbacked terrorismHe questioned why the Opposition was demanding Shahs resignation despite these achievementsShinde urged Opposition parties to participate in discussions inside Parliament instead of engaging in what he described as political stunts outside the HouseHe also appealed for bipartisan support to important legislation such as the Womens Reservation Bill and said the proposed delimitation exercise should be viewed as a necessity to ensure fair representation rather than through a political lensPM assures Shiv Sena MPsEarlier in the day Prime Minister Modi hosted Shiv Sena MPs for a tea meeting in Delhi where he reportedly assured them not to worry and advised them to focus on development work in their respective constituenciesSeveral Shiv Sena MPs including Dr Shrikant Shinde Shrirang Barne Naresh Mhaske Ravindra Waikar Bhausaheb Wakchaure Sanjay Deshmukh Omraje Nimbalkar Jyoti Waghmare and Sanjay Dina Patil were present