Elated after winning the floor test on Monday, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis attacked the opposition leaders in the state legislative Assembly. During the floor test today, opposition leaders shouted "ED, ED" when MLAs supporting Eknath Shinde were voting. Sharply reacting to the slogans, Fadnavis quipped, "It is true the new government is formed by ED, which stands for Eknath and Devendra”.
Fadnavis made the statement in the state Assembly after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde won the floor test in the House during the last day of the two-day special session of the Assembly. Fadnavis also called the trolls which he faced over his impassioned "I will return" assertion before the 2019 state Assembly polls and said that he will avenge such trolls by forgiving them.
Speaking in the Legislative Assembly to congratulate CM @mieknathshinde as we prove majority, win the trust vote for our Government ! https://t.co/pTbnb656ww
— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) July 4, 2022
Before the Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2019, senior BJP leader and former CM Fadnavis said "Me punha yein" (I will return), which evoked many social media memes. After the polls, the Shiv Sena snapped ties with the BJP over the issue of sharing the chief ministerial post. The Sena had then tied up with the NCP and Congress to form the government.
Last month, Shinde launched a rebellion against the Sena. Majority of MLAs sided with him, which led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Uddhav Thackeray. On June 30, Shinde was sworn in as the chief minister of Maharashtra, while Fadnavis took oath as the deputy CM
Speaking in the House on Monday, Fadnavis said, "I have been trolled severely for my remark that I will return. I am going to take revenge against the trolls by forgiving them."
Without taking the name of former CM Uddhav Thackeray, Fadnavis claimed Maharashtra witnessed a "deficit of leadership availability" in the last few years. "But, there are two leaders in the House (Shinde and himself), who will always be available for people," Fadnavis said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday won the crucial floor test in the state Assembly on the last day of the two-day special session of the House. In the 288-member House, 164 MLAs voted for the motion of confidence, while 99 voted against it. Three legislators abstained from voting, while 21 legislators, including Congress's Ashok Chavan and Vijay Wadettiwar, were absent during the trust vote.
(With Agency Inputs)