“People are taunting that it is an ED government. Yes, it is an ED government, of Eknath-Devendra,” – Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis used some puns in the meeting today, mentioning the name of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his used his own name to allege that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was being misused to effect change in government.
Opposition MLAs previously shouted “ED, ED” as rebels from Uddhav Thackeray supported Sena Eknath Shinde in the confidence vote, which he won 164-99, increasing the winning margin of yesterday’s presidential election. Some of these MLAs or their families are facing investigations by the ED, an agency under the BJP-led central government.
Mr Fadnavis said the BJP-Shiv Sena pre-poll alliance received the mandate in 2019, “but the majority was deliberately taken from us”. He referred to Shiv Sena of Uddhav Thackeray who had chosen to ditch the BJP to form the government in a pact with Congress and the NCP — a government that fell last week after Eknath Shinde led a mutiny in the Sena.
“With Eknath Shinde, we have re-formed our government with Shiv Sena. A Shiv Sainik has become the CM,” he said, underscoring Mr Shinde’s claim that his faction is the real Shiv Sena.