New Delhi: A day ahead of the Monsoon Session of the Maharashtra Assembly, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday claimed the government has the support of more than 210 MLAs and encouraged the Opposition to raise questions on the welfare of the people. Addressing a press conference, CM Shinde said, “We will discuss all the issues during the session. More than 210 MLAs are with us (current government). Opposition must question us if we are doing wrong, questions must be raised for the welfare of the people. It is the duty of the Opposition to praise the government when it does something right.”
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that though the number of MLAs on the side of the government has increased, it will not misuse the strength and address the issues raised by the Opposition.
“We will discuss all the issues during the session. Even though our strength has increased we will make sure that we do not misuse it and address all the issues related to the welfare of the people that will be raised by the opposition,” news agency ANI quoted Fadnavis as saying.
Meanwhile, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi skipped the customary tea party/meeting thrown by the CM Shinde on the eve of the monsoon session of the Maharashtra Legislature, citing several failures of the Eknath Shinde-led BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP administration.
The leaders of the Congress, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, and the Sharad Pawar-Supriya Sule-led NCP met in Mumbai and decided not to accept the Chief Minister's invitation.
They also emphasised the instability of the government by pointing out that it has not yet established a full-fledged ministry, news agency PTI reported.