Internal disputes within the ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra surfaced in the Assembly on Thursday when BJP lawmaker Ameet Satam asked Education Minister and Shiv Sena leader Dada Bhuse to explain the delay in implementing the Mukhyamantri Vidyarthi Vigyan Vari scheme.
Under this scheme, the Maharashtra government plans to send 51 students every year to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) headquarters in the U.S. According to the government’s decision, the students presenting the 21 best projects at the tehsil-level competitions will be allowed to visit the science center in their division, those who created the 51 best projects at the district-level competitions will be transferred to the Indian National Space Research Organization (ISRO) headquarters and the 5 finalists in Bengaluru (ISRO) NASA.
“Now the government has come up with this policy. It has been approved. A few months ago, Minister of State for School Education Pankaj Bhoyar (of the BJP) sent a letter on June 4. The Chief Minister approved it. So why did it take so many months to implement it? That was my question,” Mr Satam said.
Reacting to this, Mr Bhuse said, “As the responsible minister, I should not disclose everything here. But I will because it is being portrayed as if I am blocking the scheme. The prize has been increased from ₹ 5,000 to ₹ 51,000, which has been objected to by the state planning department.”
‘CM Approved’
Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar lashed out at the government over the internal rift, telling The Hindu: “If according to the Chief Minister only No. 1 is important and there is no No. 2, how come such important files are being withheld? These are the files approved by the CM. He should have taken up the matter personally. The state government would not have doubted this financial crisis.”
Mr. Wadettiwar alleged that the Finance Department, headed by Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar, was holding back the portfolios of all ministries headed by Shiv Sena ministers, which is headed by Deputy CM Eknath Shinde.
“The system is good. We welcomed it. School children are to be taken to NASA and ISRO. But the good plans are suffering because of their infighting. Maharashtra is being taken backwards. After Cabinet approval, how can the finance ministry stop it? You have to make the money available. They call themselves a ‘three-engine government’ but the engines are clashing,” he said.
Published – 12 Dec 2025 01:30 IST
