Pune: Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said that MVA leaders promised All India Muslim Personal Law Board member Sajjad Nomani that they would ban RSS in Maharashtra if the ulema (a body of Muslim scholars) supported MVA candidates in the assembly poll. Fadnavis said, "Banning RSS is beyond their capacity (aukat)." He claimed that there were 16 other demands which MVA members had promised to accept if they formed govt.
Addressing a rally in Pune's Kasba Peth assembly constituency late on Friday evening, Fadnavis said, "I came here to awaken voters to unite against vote jihad. Every vote is important for our existence. If we do not wake up now, we will never be able to respond.
" He played part of the purported video with Nomani in it, where he is heard saying that the assembly poll is important and if Mahayuti was defeated in the state, the govt at the Centre would not be able to sustain for long. Fadnavis added, "Along with the assurance to ban RSS, MVA members accepted other demands, including release of Muslims arrested in riot cases registered in the state since 2012 and a 10% reservation to the community. It shows that they (MVA) have started licking the feet of ulemas and they got into vote jihad.
They are using the same tactics they adopted during the Lok Sabha campaign. But this time, they will not be successful." The deputy chief minister reiterated his appeal of 'dharmayudh' of votes to beat 'vote jihad'.
He accused the MVA of indulging in appeasemen.