CURRENT UPDATE: CHIEF MINISTER OF MAHARASHTRA

DEVENDRA FADNAVIS SWORN-IN AS CHIEF MINISTER OF MAHARASHTRA

Devendra Fadnavis has been sworn in as the first BJP Chief Minister of Maharashtra along with nine Ministers on Friday.

The swearing-in ceremony was held at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.

Maharashtra Governor, C Vidyasagar Rao administered the oath of office and secrecy to Fadnavis and his Cabinet in the shadow of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s image that was projected through a LED screen.

Apart from Fadnavis, seven Cabinet Ministers and two Ministers of state were also sworn-in.

The Cabinet Ministers sworn-in today included Messrs Eknath Khadse, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Vinod Tawde, Prakash Mehta, Chandrakant Patil, Pankaja Munde and Vishnu Sawra while Dilip Kamble and Vidya Thakur were sworn-in as Ministers of State.

Addressing his first press conference in Mumbai after taking over as Chief Minister, Fadnavis said that he will strive to provide a transparent and efficient government that will remain totally focussed on inclusive development.

Outlining a step in that direction, Fadnavis said the government has decided to introduce a citizen’s charter or Right to Service.

He said that the state cabinet in its first meeting has decided to provide a legal recourse to all citizens who fail to get government services in a time bound manner.

He said that a Committee headed by the Chief Secretary will submit a detailed report and proposal in this regard.

Showcasing his practical side, the Chief Minister declined to state any 100 day targets for the government.

Fadnavis said that he would rather use his first 100 days to study the state of affairs and then use the rest of his 5 year term for development goals.

He said that the government will review most of the decisions taken by the previous government in its last days and see if implementing all of them will be feasible without causing much trouble to the exchequer.

He said that the BJP led government will try to fulfil all its promises regarding removal of toll and bringing out a white paper on irrigation scam as soon as possible.

Saying that he was happy as Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray was present to attend the swearing-in ceremony, the Chief Minister indicated that the alliance between the two parties will be announced soon.

On the issue of a separate Vidarbha, a region from which Fadnavis belongs, the Chief Minister said that the initial focus will be on the development of all backward regions including Vidarbha and Marathwada.