After a botch-up of Sunday’s swearing-in ceremony which put him on the spot, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Monday made amends, by inducting two new Congress Ministers — senior party legislator Abdul Sattar and late Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh’s son Amit Deshmukh — into his Cabinet.
Though he overcame much of the embarrassment he had suffered after the sudden cancellation of a swearing-in ceremony scheduled at 4 pm on Sunday, Chavan did not have his way fully. For, in the re-scheduled swearing-in ceremony held on Monday morning, the Chief Minister could not have fill all the three long-existing ministerial vacancies – from the Congress quota, owing to the disagreement within his party over the choice of nominee for the third slot.
Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan administered the oath of office and secrecy to the two new Congress ministers at a swearing-in-ceremony held at Raj Bhavan on Monday morning.
While Sattar was inducted as a Cabinet Minister in the Chavan Cabinet, Amit Deshmukh was included in the State Cabinet as a Minister of State.
Chavan, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, Assembly Speaker Dilip Walse Patil and Council chairman Shivajirao Deshmukh were among those present in a hastily convened swearing-in ceremony.
Amit's younger brother and Bollywood actor Ritiesh Deshmukh and other members of late Vilasrao’s family were present at the ceremony.
With the induction of Amit Deshmukh and Sattar, the total number of ministers in the Prithviraj Chavan Cabinet has gone up to 42 – as against the stipulated 43 Ministers.
A first-time MlA from latur, Amit Deshmukh is the eldest son of senior Congress leader Vilasrao Deshmukh, who passed away on August 14, 2012. Sattar, a two-time MlA from Sillod near Aurangabad, is a confident of former chief minister Ashok Chavan. In fact, Sattar was a minister in the Ashok Chavan Cabinet.
During the monsoon session of the State legislature that began later in afternoon, the CM introduced the newly sworn-in Ministers – Sattar and Amit Deshmukh, as also new NCP minister Jitendra Awhad whom Chavan had inducted into his Cabinet on Thursday last.
Meanwhile, the BJP-led Opposition came down heavily on the chief minister for the flip-flip over the timing of the Swearing-in ceremony.
leader of Opposition Eknath Khadse and Sena group leader Subhash Desai demanded to know why the swearing-in ceremony scheduled to be held at 4 pm on Sunday came to be put off and later re-scheduled for Monday morning.
The CM said he was away in New Delhi for various meetings and returned to Mumbai at 6 pm on Sunday. Alluding to the sudden cancellation of the swearing-ceremony scheduled at 4 pm on Sunday, Chavan said: “… I am aware SMSes were sent from my office about the swearing-in on Sunday afternoon. I will inquire into confusion over the swearing-in ceremony (scheduled initially at 4 pm on Sunday)”.