NCP leader Dilip Walse Patil's name has been recommended to Governor BS Khosyari by the Maharashtra CM to be appointed as the pro-tem Speaker to conduct the floor test. Governor has asked Thackeray to prove his majority by December 3. The alliance has claimed that they have the majority with a total of at least 162 MLAs in a 288-member House.
Thackeray, who also the chief of Shiv Sena, took oath as the Maharashtra CM during a grand event organised at the Shivaji Park in Mumbai on Thursday evening and hours later held the first cabinet meeting of the Maha Vikas Aghadi-led Maharashtra government. Besides Thackeray, six other ministers — two each from the Sena, the Congress and the NCP - also took oath.
Watch here | Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray reaches State Secretariat
"Immediately after taking charge, CM Uddhav Thackeray held a meeting with senior officers at Mantralaya and instructed them to start development related works immediately and be cautious against wastage of public money," Maharashtra CMO stated.
"I an in mantralaya (state secretariat) for the first time. I just had a meeting with the secretaries and we introduced each other. I told them to use taxpayers money in the best way, and that it should not be wasted," CM said.
After the meeting, Thackeray also held a press conference and announced that his government has put a stay on construction of metro car shed project in the city's green lung Aarey Colony, where protests were held last month against cutting of trees for the work. "I have ordered to stop the work of Aarey metro car shed project today. Metro work will not stop but till next decision, not a single leaf of Aarey will be cut," Thackeray said.
A Supreme Court bench had last month sought a status report with pictures on plantation, transplantation and felling of trees in Aarey colony area.
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This was the new Chief Minister's first informal media interaction with the journalists who cover the Mantralaya and Legislature, where he appeared a tad weary, but cheerful, after his first day at work.
Thackeray also said he would welcome any "constructive criticism" by the media on any aspects of the government or governance always, and agreed to consider suggestions put forth by media persons. On how he felt about taking over as the Chief Minister, he candidly admitted that in his entire life, he had barely come to Mantralaya on a couple of occasions and has "not even seen the Vidhan Bhavan from inside".
A report by news agency IANS stated that Thackeray will soon move to a new lair -- 'Varsha' -- the spacious official residence of the state Chief Minister in the picturesque Malabar Hill, dotted with VVIPs. Among those living in the vicinity are ministers, diplomats, leading industrialists, glamour personalities, scientists, top civil and government officials, scientists and the Syedna, who is the Dawoodi Bohra spiritual head.