Question on delay in scheme reveals rift in Mahayuti

Internal strife within the ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra came out in the open in the Assembly on Thursday when BJP legislator Ameet Satam asked School Education Minister and Shiv Sena leader Dada Bhuse to explain the delay in the implementation of the Mukhyamantri Vidyarthi Vigyan Vari scheme.

Under the 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 decision, students presenting the top 21 projects at tehsil-level competitions will get to visit a science centre in their division, those who created the top 51 projects at district-level competitions will be taken to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) headquarters in Bengaluru, and 51 State-level finalists will be taken to NASA.

“Now, the government has brought this policy. It has been approved. A few months ago, Minister of State for School Education Pankaj Bhoyar [of the BJP] had sent a letter on June 4. The Chief Minister had endorsed it. Then why has it taken so many months to implement it? That was my question,” Mr. Satam said.

In response, Mr. Bhuse said, “As a responsible Minister, I should not be disclosing everything here. But I will since it is being portrayed as if I am stalling the scheme. The prize money was hiked from ₹5,000 to ₹51,000, to which the State Planning Department raised objections.”

‘Approved by CM’

Taking potshots at the government over its internal differences, Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar told The Hindu, “If only the No. 1 is important, as per the Chief Minister, and there is no No. 2, how are such important files being withheld? These are the files that have been approved by the CM. He should have given personal attention to the issue. The State government is in financial crisis, no doubt. But this would not have happened had the CM looked into it personally.”

Mr. Wadettiwar claimed that the Finance Department, headed by Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar, had been withholding the files of all departments run by Ministers from the Shiv Sena, which is led by Deputy CM Eknath Shinde.

“The scheme is good. We have welcomed it. Schoolchildren are to be taken to NASA and ISRO. But good schemes are suffering because of their internal fight. Maharashtra is being taken backwards. After the Cabinet’s approval, how can the Finance Department stop it? You must make the money available. They call themselves ‘triple-engine government’, but the engines are clashing,” he said.

Published – December 12, 2025 01:30 am IST