Sonia, Rahul skip new CM’s swearing-in ceremony
Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party leader Rahul Gandhi have decided to skip the swearing-in ceremony of Uddhav Thackeray as the Maharashtra chief minister and have conveyed this to him. Noting that the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress have come together under extraordinary circumstances, Sonia Gandhi, in a letter, wished Thackeray the very best in life and hoped that the new government would fulfil the hopes and expectations of the people of Maharashtra.
Former prime minister Manmohan Singh also sent his best wishes to Thackeray, terming his taking over as the chief minister of Maharashtra as a “historic event”.
“Aaditya [Thackeray] met me yesterday and extended your kind invitation to attend the swearing-in ceremony this evening in Mumbai. I regret that I am unable to be present at the function,” Sonia Gandhi wrote to Thackeray.
“I wish you personally all the very best as you embark on a new innings in your life,” she said.
The Congress chief said the Shiv Sena, NCP and her party have come together under “quite extraordinary circumstances, at a time when the country faces unprecedented threats from the BJP”.
“The political atmosphere has become poisonous and the economy has collapsed, farmers are facing great distress. The Shiv Sena, NCP and the Congress have agreed to a common minimum programme and I am confident that all three parties will strive their utmost to implement that programme in letter and spirit,” she said.
“The people of Maharashtra expect the alliance to provide a cohesive, purposeful, responsible, responsive and transparent administration and our collective effort will undoubtedly be to ensure that these expectations are fulfilled,” Sonia Gandhi said.