Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday reiterated what chief minister Eknath Shinde said on Saturday that the cabinet expansion will take place soon, without putting any date to it. Deepak Kesarkar, a leader of the Shinde faction, earlier said the cabinet expansion will take place before Sunday. BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar on Thursday announced that the cabinet expansion will take place before August 15 so that the guardian ministers can hoist the National Flag in their respective districts. Eknath Shinde and Fadnavis are in New Delhi on a two-day trip to attend meetings. They attended the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav meeting on Saturday, while Shinde attended the Niti Aayog's governing council meeting on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Fadnavis on Sunday said the Supreme Court case has nothing to do with the Cabinet expansion. The Shinde faction and the Uddhav faction are fighting for the election symbol of the Shiv Sena.
After the rebellion led by Eknath Shinde following which Uddhav Thackeray resigned from the chief minister's post, Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis took the oath as the chief minister and the deputy chief minister, respectively -- on June 30. Since then, apart from these two, there has been no minister in the state cabinet.
“The Chief Minister belongs to the people and I am in his cabinet. We are always available for the people of this state,” Fadnavis said.
{{/usCountry}}“The Chief Minister belongs to the people and I am in his cabinet. We are always available for the people of this state,” Fadnavis said.
{{/usCountry}}The opposition is attacking the newly formed government for functioning with only two ministers. Shinde on Saturday countered the criticism and said the delay in the cabinet expansion has not affected the functioning of the government. "The work of the government has not been affected in any way. The decision-making process has not been affected. I and the deputy chief minister have been taking decisions and there is no impact on the working of the government,” Shinde said.
Opposition leader NCP's Ajit Pawa said the cabinet expansion is getting delayed because the duo have not received the green signal from Delhi. "We have been constantly demanding that the CM expand the cabinet and appoint guardian ministers as issues about law and order, heavy rainfall, and farmers are piling up," Ajit Pawar said.
"This is simple math. We should understand that unless a green signal is received from Delhi, they will not be able to expand the Maharashtra cabinet. Recently, I heard that the cabinet expansion will take place once elections of President and Vice President are over," he added.
Replying to Ajit Pawar's jibe, Fadnavis said, “Ajit Pawar is leader of the opposition. He will have to say such things. Ajit dada conveniently forgets that when he was in the government there were just five ministers for the first 32 days.”