Uddhav Sena boycotts oath-taking ceremony of new Maharashtra MLAs due to THIS reason
Published: Dec 07, 2024, 24:20 IST | Updated: Dec 07, 2024, 24:20 IST
Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray.
The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) announced on Saturday (Dec 7) that it was boycotting the oath-taking ceremony of the Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of Maharashtra.
Speaking to reporters, Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray said, "We boycotted the oath-taking ceremony today as democracy is being murdered by the use of EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines).
"This (the results of the Maharashtra Assembly elections) is not the mandate of the public it is the mandate of EVM and the Election Commission of India...," Thackeray added.
Also read | Devendra Fadnavis takes oath as Maharashtra CM; Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar as deputy CMs
"Today we have decided that our (Shiv Sena UBT) winning MLAs will not take oath. If this was the mandate of the people, people would have been happy and celebrated it, but people did not celebrate this victory anywhere. We have doubts about EVM," he further said.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar reacted to the doubts raised by Thackeray about EVMs.
"There is no point in making such allegations here. They (opposition) should go to the Election Commission and if they do not get justice there, they should approach the court," Pawar told reporters.
#WATCH | Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy CM and NCP chief Ajit Pawar says, "There is no point in making such allegations here. They (opposition) should go to the Election Commission and if they do not get justice there, they should approach the court." https://t.co/qbHEHsgJJv pic.twitter.com/MRCYmNILen
Shiv Sena leader Manisha Kayande, meanwhile, said that the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was doing childish things.
"Speaker of the Assembly will be elected through ballot papers and then they might demand electronic machines, if this keeps happening, there will be no govt formation anywhere in the country," Kayande told the news agency ANI.
"The way the election has happened, it has happened democratically...all the elected MLAs will take oath today and after that leaders of 3 of the parties will sit together and make decisions, their discussions have already started...," she added.
Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar took oath as MLAs in the state assembly.
With the oath-taking ceremony, the three-day special session of the assembly got underway.
A report by ANI said that the session would serve as a platform to set the tone for the legislative agenda of the newly formed assembly.
#WATCH | Mumbai: On Shiv Sena UBT's decision that their winning MLAs won't take oath, Shiv Sena leader Manisha Kayande says, " They (Maha Vikas Aghadi) is doing very childish things...Speaker of the Assembly will be elected through ballot papers and then they might demand… pic.twitter.com/gfsiFHucMC
Senior BJP MLA Kalidas Sulochana Kolambkar was sworn in as the pro-tem Speaker of the Assembly by Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan on Friday.
Speaking to ANI, Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant said, "... our 3 leaders CM Fadnavis and two Dy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar will together decide on when to do the cabinet expansion and which departments we will be getting."
"Our leader is Eknath Shinde, we have given him the authority to take all the political decisions to him, and all our MLAs will agree with whatever decision he takes," Samant added.
(With inputs from agencies)