Taking oath was necessary to raise people’s issues: NCP-SCP leader Rohit Pawar

MUMBAI: After opposition MLAs took oath in the special session of the Maharashtra Assembly on Sunday after initially “boycotting” Saturday’s voting, PCN-SCP chief Rohit Pawar stressed that taking the oath was necessary to enable them to raise the people’s issues during the session and to prevent those in power from unilaterally imposing their will.
Notably, a total of 280 deputies have been sworn in until today, while 8 remain to be sworn in. Few MLAs missed taking oath due to personal reasons, they may also take oath tomorrow or at a later date in the Speaker’s chamber, a source in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly said.
It comes after 115 MPs, largely from the opposition, refused to take the oath of office on Saturday in a “symbolic protest” against doubts over the legitimacy of the poll results.
Samajwadi Party (SP) MPs Abu Azmi and Raees Sheikh, however, were sworn in on Saturday, despite opposition from the party. Maha Vikas Agadi (MVA).
“Yesterday’s protest was symbolic. If we hadn’t taken the oath today, how could we have raised people’s issues in the session? Otherwise, those in power can do whatever they want” , Rohit Pawar said on Sunday.
NCP chief Chhagan Bhujbal downplayed the opposition’s boycott of the oath-taking ceremony during the special session of the Maharashtra Assembly, saying the oath-taking ceremony usually spans two days , implying that the opposition MPs’ decision to take the oath a day later was not a significant consequence. issue.
“The swearing-in ceremony lasts for two days anyway. So, they (the opposition MP) took the oath today instead of yesterday,” he said.
Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant lashed out at the opposition, saying it exposed their “politics of double standards”. Samant said that due to this behavior of the opposition alliance, the people of Maharashtra gave the mandate to the Mahayuti alliance.
Speaking to ANI, Samant said, “Not taking oath (as MPs) yesterday and taking oath today is a policy of double standards. The people of Maharashtra know this and that is why the voters of the state gave Mahayuti a mandate.
Earlier on Saturday, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray announced that the party’s winning MLAs would not take oath, raising doubts over the party’s legitimacy. Electronic voting machines (EVM).
“Today we have decided that our winning MLAs (Shiv Sena UBT) will not take oath. If this was the mandate of the people, people would have been happy and celebrated it. However, there was no such celebration or enthusiasm from the public “We have doubts about the EVM,” Aaditya Thackeray said on Saturday.
Notably, MVA alliance partners have raised questions over the legitimacy of EVMs after facing a setback in the Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar has hit back at Aaditya Thackeray’s allegations questioning the legitimacy of electronic voting machines (EVMs), saying the opposition should approach the commission election or to the courts if she has concerns.
“There is no point in making such allegations here. They (the opposition) should approach the Election Commission and if they do not get justice there, they should approach the court,” said the newly sworn-in MP Ajit Pawar.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were sworn in as members of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Saturday.
Senior BJP MP Kalidas Sulochana Kolambkar was on Friday sworn in as the caretaker Speaker of the Assembly by Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan, a day ahead of the three-day special session of the Assembly.
Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Maharashtra Chief Minister for the third time at an event in Mumbai on Thursday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with several alliance leaders along with celebrities from all walks of life . Deputy Chief Ministers Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde also took oath on the occasion.
The 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections saw a decisive victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance, winning a landslide with 235 seats. The Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party also made notable gains, with 57 and 41 seats, respectively.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a major setback with the Congress securing only 16 seats. Its alliance partner Shiv Sena (UBT) won 20 seats, while the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) got only 10 seats.