Pawan Khera links Fadnavis stand on airport and FSSAI to prime ministerial ambition

Congress leader Pawan Khera has questioned Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, citing two of his decisions. In a social media post, Khera directly linked the developments to ambition for the post of Prime Minister. His statement has set off discussion in political circles.

Khera wrote in his post that Fadnavis has his eye on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's chair. Tagging Yogi Adityanath, he asked, "Yogiji, where is your attention? Fadnavis has his eye on the throne in Delhi."

Khera referred to two developments in the post. The first was the petition filed by the Maharashtra government against the FSSAI in the Bombay High Court. The second was Fadnavis's objection to the plan to shift international flights to Navi Mumbai airport. According to Khera, challenging the Central government and its favoured industrialists in the same week is a sign of big political ambition. Khera, however, did not offer any firm evidence of Fadnavis's candidature for the post of Prime Minister.

Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), which runs Mumbai airport, had proposed shifting flights to 14 international cities to Navi Mumbai airport from March 2027. The cities included Doha, Jeddah, Dhaka, Kathmandu, Muscat, Riyadh and Kuwait City.

Fadnavis took the stand that not a single flight should be shifted out of Mumbai airport. He wrote to the Union Civil Aviation Minister suggesting another plan. Under his proposal, Terminal 1B would be built first. The operations of Terminal 1A would then be moved to the new terminal, and the existing terminal would be demolished and redeveloped. Fadnavis says this would allow redevelopment while the airport's daily operations continue.

The second matter concerns food safety rules. The Maharashtra government had alleged that the Centre had created a parallel authority over licensing and inspection of food businesses, encroaching on the state's jurisdiction. The state government had filed a petition in the Bombay High Court against the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Union Health Ministry.

The matter took a new turn on November 13. Maharashtra's Food and Drug Administration department has taken a step towards resolving the dispute through talks with the Central government. It has been decided to withdraw the petition filed in the High Court, and a letter on this has been sent to the state's Advocate General.

Khera commented on the Chief Minister citing both matters. According to him, Fadnavis's stand in both appears different from that of the Central government. Fadnavis's reaction to Khera's allegations has not yet come to light.