Uddhav set to meet Modi, Fadnavis holds meeting with Maha BJP leaders

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday reached Delhi for a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss issues like Maratha and OBC reservation and Cyclone Tauktae relief measures.

Last month, Uddhav Thackeray wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to take steps to declare the Maratha community in the state as Socially and Educationally Backward (SEBC) to enable them to claim the reservation in education and public employment at least to 12 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and state minister Ashok Chavan have already arrived at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport to attend the meeting with the Prime Minister on Tuesday.

While the meeting with the Prime Minister is underway, the situation in the state has also gained momentum. While discussions are going on between Chief Minister Thackeray and Prime Minister Modi, an emergency meeting of important BJP leaders has been called at the 'Sagar' bungalow of Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Devendra Fadnavis. Although the exact reason for this meeting is not known, it is being said that a meeting of BJP leaders is being held to discuss the background of the Thackeray-Modi meeting in Delhi.

A meeting has been convened at Devendra Fadnavis' bungalow in the presence of BJP state president Chandrakant Patil, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Praveen Darekar and other BJP leaders. Meanwhile, the meeting convened by Fadnavis is a general meeting of the party and has nothing to do with the meeting between Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said Praveen Darekar. If there is a coordinated discussion between the state government and the center for the betterment of Maharashtra, we will feel good about it, there is no need to worry, said Darekar.