Taking oath was necessary to raise people's issues: NCP-SCP leader Rohit Pawar

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 8 : After the opposition MLAs, took oath on Sunday during the Maharashtra Assembly special session after initially 'boycotting' the vote on Saturday, NCP-SCP leader Rohit Pawar emphasized that taking the oath was necessary to allow them to raise people's issues during the session and preventing those in power from unilaterally imposing their will.
Notably, a total of 280 MLAs have taken oath till today, while 8 are remaining to take oath. Few MLAs missed taking oath due to personal reasons, they can take oath tomorrow or some later date in Speaker's chamber also, a source from Maharashtra legislature said.
This comes after 115 MLAs, largely from the opposition, refused to take their oaths on Saturday as a 'symbolic protest' against doubts over the legitimacy of poll results.
Samajwadi Party (SP) MLAs Abu Azmi and Raees Sheikh, however, took their oath of office on Saturday, despite opposition from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance.
"Yesterday's protest was symbolic. If we had not taken the oath today, how could we have raised people's issues in the session? Otherwise, the people in power can do whatever they want to do," Rohit Pawar said on Sunday.
NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal downplayed the opposition's boycott of the oath-taking ceremony at the Maharashtra Assembly special session stating that the oath-taking ceremony typically spans two days, implying that the opposition MLAs' decision to take the oath a day later was not a significant issue.
"The oath-taking ceremony anyway goes on for two days. So, they (the opposition MLA) took the oath today instead of yesterday," he said.
Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant lashed out at the Opposition saying it revealed their "double standard politics". Samant stated that because of this behaviour by the opposition alliance, the people of Maharashtra have given the mandate to the Mahayuti alliance.
Speaking to ANI, Samant said, "Not taking oath (as MLAs) yesterday and taking oath today is double standard politics. People of Maharashtra know this and that is why the voters of the state gave a mandate to Mahayuti."
Earlier on Saturday, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray announced that the party's winning MLAs will not take the oath of office raising doubts about the legitimacy of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
"Today we have decided that our (Shiv Sena UBT) winning MLAs will not take the oath. If this was the mandate of the people, people would have been happy and celebrated it. However, there was no such celebration or enthusiasm from the public. We have doubts about EVM," Aaditya Thackeray said on Saturday.
Notably, the MVA alliance partners have been raising questions about the legitimacy of EVMs after facing a setback in the Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar hit back at Aaditya Thackeray's allegations questioning the legitimacy of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), stating that the opposition should approach the Election Commission or the courts if they have concerns.
"There is no point in making such allegations here. They (the opposition) should go to the Election Commission and if they do not get justice there, they should approach the court," said the newly sworn-in MLA Ajit Pawar.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar took oath as members of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Saturday.
Senior BJP MLA Kalidas Sulochana Kolambkar was sworn in as the pro-tem Speaker of the Assembly by Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan on Friday, a day ahead of the three-day special session of the Assembly.
Devendra Fadnavis took oath as Maharashtra Chief Minister for the third time in an event held in Mumbai on Thursday and was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with several leaders of the alliance as well as celebrities from across fields. Deputy Chief Ministers Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde also took oath during the occasion.
The Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024 witnessed a decisive victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance, securing a landslide win with 235 seats. The Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party also made notable gains, with 57 and 41 seats, respectively.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a major setback with Congress winning just 16 seats. Its alliance partner, Shiv Sena (UBT), won 20 seats, while the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) secured only 10 seats.