Maharashtra's first BJP CM Fadnavis promises transparent government
The first meeting of the Council of Ministers took place right after the swearing-in. Portfolios will be allocated to the seven Cabinet and two Ministers of State on Saturday.
Devendra Fadnavis was sworn-in as the BJP's first and Maharashtra's 27th chief minister in a gala ceremony at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium on Friday.
Maharashtra Governor C Vidysagar Rao administered the oath of office and secrecy to Fadnavis, 44, and nine others at a ceremony witnessed by over 30,000 people, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, top BJP leaders and Bollywood actors. (Pictures)
BJP veteran LK Advani and outgoing Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan also attended the event.
In a last-minute patch-up, Thackeray was invited by BJP president Amit Shah as a special guest, though the party has not yet decided on taking the Sena on board to form its government in Maharashtra. The 25-year-old alliance between the BJP and Shiv Sena broke last month following differences over sharing of seats for the Assembly polls.
Despite its messy separation with Sena, the BJP won 122 seats in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, up from 46 in 2009. Its strength has, however, come down to 121 following the death of MLA Govind Rathod.
In an editorial in its mouthpiece Samana on Friday, the Sena defended the lavish Wankhede event. "It's laughable to hear criticism from those who supervised the loot of the state," the editorial said in an apparent reference to the previous Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra.
Earlier, opposition parties led by the Congress attacked the BJP for the Rs 100-crore ceremony designed by a top Bollywood art director and attended by over 30,000 guests. The event was held a day after Modi put his government on an austerity mode.
New CM promises transparent administration
Promising a transparent administration, Maharashtra's new chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said his government will bring in a legislation for better delivery of services to the people.
The 44-year-old Fadnavis got down to work immediately and has instructed Chief Secretary Swadheen Kshatriya to have a draft of the Right to Service Bill ready within a month.
"I have directed the Chief Secretary to prepare a draft of the legislation, a form of citizen's charter, to provide better services to the people who can take legal recourse if they don't get them," he told reporters at a meet the press programme shortly after taking oath.
He said the decision was taken at the first meeting of the Council of Ministers. Portfolios will be allocated to the seven Cabinet and two Ministers of State on Saturday.
"People of Maharshtra have high expectations from us and it is a big responsibility. We will provide an efficient and transparent administration with focus on development," he said.
"The state government's financial condition is not that good. If all the assurances given by the erstwhile (Congress-NCP) government are to be implemented, the government would have to spend Rs 52,000 crore," Fadnavis said.
The chief minister said the decisions taken by the previous Congress-NCP government just before the model code of conduct for election kicked in will be reviewed.
"It will take time to bring the administration back on the track but we will do it. We will bring Maharashtra to the number one position," he said.
Asked about the possibility of Shiv Sena joining the new government, Fadnavis said,"There was a positive talk between Amit Shah and Uddhav Thckeray today."
On the presence of godmen at the swearing-in ceremony, Fadnavis said, "They belonged to all religions. There is a thin line between belief and superstition. We are against superstition."
He also assured to look into the grievances of the media, particularly incidents of attack on journalists, and said there will be a regular media briefing after state cabinet meetings, a practice discontinued during the tenure of Vilasrao Deshmukh as Chief Minister.