Former Maharashtra minister Eknath Khadse, who recently tendered his resignation from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to join the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), said on Thursday, 22 October, that his party rendered him useless after he put in 35 years of hard work in the state.
In an interview with The Quint, the Other Backward Class (OBC) leader from Jalgaon district of North Maharashtra, who represented the Muktainagar Assembly seat for six consecutive terms till 2019, alleged that former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis “destroyed his life” to prevent him from assuming the state’s top post.
“Devendra ji perceived me as a threat and wanted to ensure I do not become the chief minister and he therefore destroyed my life. Even after serving 35 years in the party, I did not have any such desire. All I wanted was to work for the people. However, he (Fadnavis) instructed the police to file an FIR against me on false allegation of harassment by a woman. I was told the FIR would be withdrawn later. I was then made a scapegoat over corruption allegations, where I came out clean,” Khadse, who was initially groomed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker Ashok Phadke in Jalgaon.