NEW DELHI: Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday condemned the opposition parties’ decision to boycott the oath-taking ceremony during the first day of the Maharashtra assembly’s special session. Fadnavis accused the elected members of the opposition of insulting the voters who had chosen them by refusing to take their oaths as MLAs.
“The voters have voted for these members of the opposition to represent them in the assembly. By refusing to take oath as the members of legislative assembly, these elected representatives have insulted the voters across the state who have voted for them,” Fadnavis told reporters.
The boycott was led by the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, which includes prominent opposition parties like Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP led by Sharad Pawar.
The leaders of these parties, including Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, voiced their concerns regarding the fairness of the recent elections.
Thackeray accused the Election Commission of allowing “misuse of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)” during the state assembly elections.
Speaking to the media, Thackeray said, “We have decided that our winning MLAs will not take the oath today to protest the misuse of EVMs. If this was truly the mandate of the people, there would have been celebrations across the state, but no such celebrations have taken place.”
He continued, saying, “Democracy is being murdered by the use of EVMs. This election result is not the will of the public; it is the result of the EVM and the Election Commission.”
In response to the opposition’s claims, Maharashtra deputy chief minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar dismissed the allegations as baseless. “There is no point in making such allegations here. If the opposition has concerns, they should approach the Election Commission. If they are not satisfied with the response, they can take the matter to court,” Pawar said.