NEW DELHI: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday commented on Mahayuti government’s decision to organize cabinet expansion in Nagpur instead of Mumbai and sarcastically said that they “should construct a temple of EVMs in front of RSS headquarters.”
“First of all, the procession of the chief minister will be taken out there (in Nagpur). I think that before taking out the procession of the CM, they should take out a procession of EVMs and in the first cabinet they should make a decision to construct a temple of EVMs in front of RSS Headquarters,” he said when asked why the cabinet expansion was being done in the orange city instead of Mumbai.
Criticising the delay in government formation despite having a majority, Raut said, “It has been a month since the new government formed in this state but it is not known who has which department. Murders and rapes are happening in every village in Maharashtra every day, the CM is unable to answer this.”
Raut also expressed concern over the rise in crimes like murders and rapes across Maharashtra, accusing the chief minister of being unable to address these issues.
“Anarchy has spread in Maharashtra, this government has been formed with EVMs, they do not have a brain, they have EVMs in their brains,” he said.
The much-anticipated cabinet expansion of the Devendra Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government is set to take place on Sunday afternoon at Raj Bhavan in Nagpur, just a day before the Maharashtra legislature’s winter session begins.
The ceremony, scheduled to start at 3pm, is significant as it will be the first cabinet expansion in Nagpur since 1991, emphasizing Vidarbha’s growing influence in Maharashtra’s political landscape. In that year, governor C Subramaniam administered the oath to Chhagan Bhujbal and other ministers.
The cabinet expansion, finalized after three weeks of intense negotiations among the Mahayuti partners, reflects the challenge the BJP faced in balancing power with its allies, the Shiv Sena and NCP. Despite BJP’s dominance with 132 seats in the 288-member assembly, the party had to navigate the competing interests of its coalition partners eager for key roles in the government.