After comfortably winning the trust vote and also following the Speaker’s election, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday hit back at Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar after the latter raised serious doubts over the survival of the Shinde-Fadnavis government and asked his party legislators to pay more attention to their respective constituencies and gear up for the midterm election.
Shinde said, "Sharad Pawar is a big leader, but whatever he says is just the opposite of fact. So we will complete 2.5 years of governance; next time, we'll have 200 MLAs, 100 ours (Shiv Sena led by him) & 100 BJP's."
Shinde mocked Pawar saying that whatever NCP chief says the opposite happens.
Shinde, who was accompanied by his deputy Devendra Fadnavis, said, ‘’All MLAs who voted in our favour today will support Droupadi Murmu in Presidential polls.’’ He claimed, ‘’We are original Shiv Sena.’’
Shinde said he has the support of 50 (Shiv Sena) & 115 (BJP) MLAs and that his government will take decisions in the interest of the people. "This government is of people's mandate which couldn't be formed 2.5 yrs back due to some reasons. We have today 50 (Shiv Sena) & 115 (BJP) MLAs & we will take decisions in the interest of the people of Maharashtra," he said.
Shinde said his government will try to get all pending projects completed as soon as possible. "I've seen Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis's decision-making speed in previous govt. He gets the pending work completed. In this govt as well, we'll try to get all pending projects completed as soon as possible, be it the metro project or Samruddhi Mahamarg," he said.
Shinde made it clear that the new government will not practice vendetta politics but said it would take opposition on board in expediting the development process.
Shinde warned the Uddhav Thackeray faction of action for violating their whip. "We'll see about the cabinet expansion. They (Uddhav Thackeray camp) are regularly going to Courts & even today went to Supreme Court. Bharat Gogawale is our whip & I'm myself the legislative party leader. Action will be taken against those who violated our whip," he added.
Responding to the Amravati murder case, Shinde said, "The accused have been arrested. Now the case is being taken over by the NIA."
Fadnavis said, "CM proposed the confidence motion and we have secured a huge victory with 164 votes in our favour. Yesterday, our speaker cast a vote in our favour. Today our speaker was in the chair. But Santosh Bangar has returned back to Shiv Sena."
‘’We passed a confidence motion again in favour of the Speaker. Yesterday at 12 o'clock our Speaker was elected, and later after two minutes, the no-confidence motion was moved against the speaker,’’ he noted.
"If Bharat Gogawale (chief whip of Shinde camp) wants, he can move for the disqualification of the Sena MLAs who disobeyed his whip yesterday. Our session is scheduled for the 18th. But on the 18th there are Presidential polls. Hence it might not be possible to hold the session from that day," he added.
