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Mumbai. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday shared the stage with senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Praful Patel, calling him his “brother”. The development comes a day after the Enforcement Directorate attached a property linked to Patel in Mumbai in a case involving drug peddler Iqbal Mirchi.
Significantly, Iqbal Mirchi has died. Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio in the state, and Patel appeared on stage together at a function in Gondia. The move by Fadnavis has seen unhappiness within and outside the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
BJP workers led by Fadnavis had launched an agitation in Mumbai last year after Patel’s name cropped up in the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) probe in a money laundering case against Mirchi. But, addressing the function today, Fadnavis described Patel as his “close friend” and “brother”. On the other hand, the NCP MP termed Fadnavis as a “visionary leader”.
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Fadnavis said, “As I am here, naturally there will be a lot of speculation about my presence. I thank Praful Patel, who is my close friend and brother (for the invitation). But, this is the culture of Maharashtra, where we do not have enmity on a personal level, despite ideological differences.”
Patel had organized the function to felicitate a group of students in Gondia. The NCP leader is a former member of the Lok Sabha from Bhandara-Gondiya and is currently a member of the Rajya Sabha. (agency)
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