Published 13:56 IST, December 31st 2019
Shiv Sena blasts BJP's oathtaking boycott, touts 'work by 6 ministers' & Aaditya Thackeray
The Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana, on Tuesday, has slammed BJPÂ for boycotting the oath-taking ceremony of Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray
The Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana, on Tuesday, has slammed BJP for boycotting the oath-taking ceremony of Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray. The party's editorial called it a "bad omen." This came after Devendra Fadnavis and other BJP leaders skipped cabinet expansion and the swearing-in function. It also said that they had boycotted the tea party earlier. The editorial said that BJP blamed them for functioning with only 6 ministers for a month. However, it added that these 6 ministers helped in maintaining peace prevail in Maharashtra despite widespread violence across the country during Anti CAA protest.
Sunil Raut miffed
Earlier in the day, Sanjay Raut's brother Sunil Raut has confirmed that he was miffed with Shiv Sena over the snub as far as the Maharashtra Cabinet expansion is concerned. Moreover claimed that apart from him, other Shiv Sena leaders including Pratap Sarnaik are upset with the party, thus skipped the oath-taking ceremony held on Monday. Further, he said that he would speak on his decision soon, after the refusal to offer him a cabinet position.
Sunil Raut told Republic, "I'm very upset with the party. Not just me, but also there are other Shiv Sena leaders including Pratap Sarnaik who did not attend the oath-taking ceremony. They are upset, even angry with the party's decision. It feels like our people (Shiv Sena) betrayed us. Soon I will speak up on my decision."
Sanjay Raut who is a close friend of the Thackeray family and is Sena's official spokesperson missed witnessing Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray who was sworn-in as a Cabinet Minister. Aaditya is the first member of the Thackeray family to contest elections and is one of the youngest Cabinet Ministers. But he dismissed reports of any rift with the Thackeray family.
Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion
Earlier in the day, during the cabinet expansion oath ceremony, Ajit Pawar once again took oath as Deputy CM after his three-day stint in November with the short-lived Fadnavis government. Shiv Sena's 13 ministers (10 - cabinet, 3 - MoS), NCP's 13 ministers (10 - cabinet, 3 - MoS) and Congress' 10 ministers (8 - cabinet, 2 - MoS) took oath on Monday at 12 PM in the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha. Uddhav Thackeray was sworn in as the chief minister of Maharashtra on November 28 along with six ministers — two each from alliance partners the Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress.
Updated 13:56 IST, December 31st 2019