As the 'Batenge toh Katenge' slogan has taken centre stage in the Maharashtra assembly polls, Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar said that he does not endorse the slogan and backed PM Modi's 'Ek hai toh Safe hai" slogan.
The slogan has been widely condemned by the opposition leaders, claiming communal overtones in it.
"I have expressed my disagreement on this (Batenge toh Katenge) in a public rally and media interviews. Some BJP leaders have also expressed the same. 'Sabka saath, Sabka vikas' means together with all, development for all...Now, 'Ek hain toh safe hain...I see it from this angle," Ajit Pawar said in an interview with ANI.
Expressing his displeasure with the slogan he said, "We immediately said that this is not Uttar Pradesh, it must be going on in the North, not in our Maharashtra."
Earlier, in an interview with ANI, BJP leader Fadnavis, who is in alliance with Ajit Pawar's NCP under Mahayuti banner said that there is nothing wrong with the slogan.
"I don't see anything wrong in Yogi ji's slogans. Look at the history of this country. Jab Jab bate hai tab gulam bane hai. Whenever this country was divided into castes, into states, divided into communities society we became slaves. The country was also divided, and so were the people. That's why if we divide, we will be cut. This is the history of this country," Fadnavis said in an interview with ANI.