Uddhav Sena Boycotts MLA Swearing-In Over EVM Issue, MVA Leaders To Decide Next Strategy At 'Matoshree'
The Shiv Sena (UBT) boycotted the oath-taking ceremony of Maharashtra MLAs, alleging EVM malfunction in the recent elections.
Shiv Sena (UBT) on Saturday announced it was boycotting the oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected MLAs during the special session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
The Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena boycotted the ceremony over allegations of malfunctioning of the EVM used to poll votes in the recently concluded Maharashtra elections.
"Today we have decided that our (Shiv Sena UBT) winning MLAs will not take oath," said party leader Aaditya Thackeray.
"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 added.
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The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi has been alleging malfunctioning of the electronic voting machines (EVM) in the November 20 assembly polls claiming more or less votes were counted than polled on some seats. Some candidates are also demanding recounting of the votes.
Reacting to the MVA's move, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said people have made their decision and there is no point in walking out.
"We don't know why the opposition walked out today. People have voted and made the decision. There's no point in walking out now. If they want to, they can go to the Election Commission or court and appeal," Pawar said.
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MVA To Meet At Matoshree
The MVA allies -- Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP-SCP -- will have a meeting at Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray's residence Matoshree on Saturday. The issue of voting through EVM will be discussed in the meeting.
Meanwhile, Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar said that the results have raised questions. "It seems that the entire process is corrupt. The public is unhappy and it seems something wrong has happened," he said.
Bhaskar Jadhav, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA said, "There is a three-day special session. There are speeches on the first two days and on the third day there is the Governor's speech and the Speaker's election. We did not take oath today. When the people of Markadwadi decided to vote for their satisfaction, the government was so scared that they imposed Section 144. People started getting arrested. This is stifling democracy. This means you have been elected because of EVMs. This victory is not the victory of Mahayuti but the victory of EVMs."
"Finally, one has to take oath as an MLA. Legally, an MLA cannot be elected without oath. So we have decided to take the oath," he added.
(With Inputs By Mritunjay Singh)
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