Sonia- Rahul Gandhi skip the swearing-in ceremony of Thackeray
NEW DELHI : After Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi decided to skip the swearing-in ceremony of Uddhav Thackeray as Maharashtra chief minister, party leader Rahul Gandhi has also decided to give the event a miss.
In his letter to Uddhav Thackeray, Rahul Gandhi wished him all the best. The Congress MP wrote he won’t be able to attend Thackeray’s swearing-in ceremony. Earlier on Thursday, Sonia Gandhi, in a letter to Uddhav Thackeray, said she won’t be able to attend his oath-taking ceremony but conveyed her wishes to him.
Echoing his mother, Rahul Gandhi also talked about how the “events leading up to the government formation” have set a “dangerous precedent” for India’s democracy. Gandhi said he is glad the alliance of Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress has been formed to “defeat the BJP’s attempt to undermine our democracy”.
Rahul Gandhi said he is confident the Sena-Congress-NCP coalition will provide a “stable, secular and pro-poor government”.Uddhav’s son Aaditya Thackeray had personally invited Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh on Wednesday evening for the oath-taking ceremony on Thursday.
Uddhav Thackeray will take oath as the chief minister of Maharashtra on Thursday evening, more than a month after results of the Assembly elections were declared on October 24. Uddhav Thackeray, 59, will be the third Sena leader after Manohar Joshi and Narayan Rane to occupy the top post.
Uddhav Thackeray would be taking over as chief minister more than a month after results of the Maharashtra Assembly elections were declared on October 24 .The weeks following the results saw political equations in the state turning topsy-turvy.
Soon after the results came in, Thackeray reminded the ally BJP of its promise to share the CM’s post. But BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis denied that any such promise had been made. An enraged Thackeray called off government formation talks, saying he could not tolerate being dubbed liar.
The falling apart of the saffron combine led to formation of an unlikely alliance between the Sena on one hand and ideologically divergent Congress and NCP on the other.
Meanwhile, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, in a letter to Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray before his swearing in as Maharashtra Chief Minister on Thursday, wrote that the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress have come together under extraordinary circumstances at a time the country faced “unprecedented threats” from the BJP.
Her son Rahul Gandhi, who is also not attending the oath ceremony, wrote in a separate letter that he was “glad” the alliance had come together against the BJP and expressed confidence that it would provide a “stable, secular and pro-poor” government.
The political atmosphere has become poisonous and the economy has collapsed, Sonia Gandhi wrote. “Farmers are facing great distress. The Shiv Sena, NCP and the Congress have agreed to a common programme and I am confident that all three parties will strive their utmost to implement that programme in letter and spirit,” she said in the letter.
The people of Maharashtra expect the alliance to provide cohesive, purposeful, responsible, responsive and transparent administration and our collective effort will undoubtedly be to ensure that these expectations are fulfilled,” the Congress president wrote in her first ever letter to the Shiv Sena chief.
Sonia Gandhi said she would be unable to attend the oath ceremony, noting that Mr Thackeray’s son Aaditya “met me yesterday and extended your kind invitation”.”I wish you personally all the very best as you embark on a new innings in your life,” she wrote.
Aaditya Thackeray flew down to Delhi last evening and met several political leaders including Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to invite them to his father’s oath ceremony.
It took many consultations with senior leaders before Sonia Gandhi relented and gave her blessing to the alliance. Uddhav Thackeray had dialed her and requested the Congress’s support to form government — a scenario that was unthinkable till now since the Sena had been in a long-term relationship with the BJP.
(With Agency Inputs ).
