Had not gone to meet Nawaz Sharif, says Uddhav Thackeray as he plays down one-on-one meeting with PM Modi

As his oneonone meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi drew intense interest in political circles Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said there was nothing wrong in having such interaction adding sarcastically that he had not gone to meet Pakistani leader Nawaz SharifThe Maharashtra chief minister said although his party and the BJP may have parted ways the relationship has not endedThackeray led a delegation of his cabinet colleagues comprising his deputy Ajit Pawar a senior NCP leader and Congress Ashok Chavan to meet Modi and discuss issues pertaining to the stateAlso Read Discussed Maratha reservation cyclone relief with PM Maharashtra CM Uddhav ThackerayDuring the 90minute interaction Thackeray also had a oneonone meeting with the prime ministerResponding to a question on his meeting with Modi Thackeray said Today politically we are not with them but that does not mean our relationship has endedThere is nothing wrong to meet Modi oneonone I had not gone to meet former Pakistan Prime minister Nawaz Sharif What is wrong if I have to meet him personally one on one What is wrong in it he saidHe said during the last one year there have been instances when he had such conversation with ModiThe Shiv SenaBJP alliance crumbled in 2019 over the issue of chief ministership Sena which was one of the oldest allies of the BJP later formed an unlikely alliance with the NCP and Congress to form the Mahavikas Aghadi government in MaharashtraSince then the two parties have had a strained relationship with both leaving no opportunity to viciously attack each otherWhen there was Cyclone Tauktaethen he PM Modi called and said your government is doing a good job in handling the COVID19 pandemic That was a oneonone talk So even today we had one on one talk I told him I have come here with my colleagues and the problems faced by the state Thackeray saidIn Mumbai Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut and Maharashtra NCP president and Water Resources Minister Jayant Patil when asked about the meeting asserted that their Mahavikas Aghadi government will complete its full term of five yearsOur commitment is to serve for five years and we will complete that tenure There is nothing to be afraid of about a separate meeting that took place between chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and Prime Minister Narendra Modi There is no threat to the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra Patil saidHe said a cordial relationship between the chief minister and the prime minister is good for MaharashtraThough our political stands are different we maintain a cordial relationship with leaders of other political parties NCP chief Sharad Pawar maintains such relations Sometimes controversies happen There is nothing new about it he saidAfter Thackeray took oath as the chief minister in 2019 he had referred to Modi as his elder brotherThank you Honble Prime Minister Shri narendramodi ji for your kind wishes With you as my elder brother in the Centre amp with a strong cabinet in the state I am looking forward to working persistently to build a New Maharashtra Thackeray had tweetedUddhav Thackerays father and Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray had shared a good equation with ModiThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever