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Sharad Pawar says ‘never given bouquets by governor’ after Eknath Shinde oath
Maharashtra: Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis took oath earlier this week after the fall of MVA government and Uddhav Thackeray resignation.
Sharad Pawar on Saturday took a swipe at Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, two days after Eknath Shinde took over as chief minister of the state. “I have seen oaths since 1967. I also took the oath from 1972 to 1990. While the ceremony was going on, we saw the governor giving a bouquet of flowers to the chief minister.”
“I have been a part of many swearing-in ceremonies but never had any governor offer me sweets, and give me bouquets,” the seasoned leader and NCP chief further said. The NCP-Shiv Sena-Congress government collapsed this week with Uddhav Thackeray’s resignation from the chief minister’s post.
This was followed by nearly 10 days of political chaos as Eknath Shinde and the group of MLAs - supporting his revolt against the Maha Vikas Aghadi government - traveled across three BJP-ruled states. From Gujarat’s Surat to Assam’s Guwahati and then to Goa, Shinde’s faction kept growing in strength as the Supreme Court finally ordered a floor test.
As the BJP-breakaway faction coalition took charge, Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Shinde’s deputy. Shortly after, Pawar took a dig saying he did not look happy with the party high command’s decision.
At the oath ceremony, the governor was seen offering sweets to Shinde and Fadnavis. “He (the governor) fed them 'pedha' (sweet) and greeted them with a bouquet. It seems there are some qualitative changes in him,” the former union minister was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Pawar also made a mention of the 2019 oath of the MVA government and how Koshyari wanted to “stick to format”. “I was present there. Koshyari had objected to some prospective ministers taking oath mentioning the names of some icons or public figures. He even pointed at me at that time and asked them to take the oath only as per the format".
Pawar also claimed that Koshyari did not clear a decision on the appointment of 12 members to be nominated as members of the Legislative Council “The alliance government had proposed and sent the names of 12 members. Originally, it was mandatory for the governor to approve the proposal made by the cabinet, but for almost two and a half years, he kept the proposal as it was and did not take any decision.”
“There is no need to discuss how appropriate this decision of the governor is for democracy. People know all this. Now it is heard that the governor will take a decision regarding 12 MLAs. One thing will become clear that the names were officially given by a government with a cabinet decision. No action has been taken on it in two and a half years and if their proposal is acted upon immediately when the new government comes.”
Maharashtra is gearing up for a special two-day assembly session now where a new speaker will be elected. Next on the new government’s agenda will be the distribution of portfolios as rebels are likely to expect rewards for switching their loyalties.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)
