Fadnavis sworn in as Maharashtra CM; Shinde, Ajit Pawar take oath as his deputies
Mumbai, Dec 5: BJP legislature party leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn-in as new chief minister of Maharashtra while allies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar took oath as deputy CMs at a grand ceremony here on Thursday evening.
The event, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several Union ministers and chief ministers of various states besides thousands of supporters of the BJP-led Mahayuti, took place at the Azad Maidan ground nearly two weeks after the results of the assembly elections were declared on November 23.
Fadnavis, 54, elected from Nagpur South West constituency, became chief minister for the third time.
Governor C P Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office to Fadnavis and his two deputies.
Other members of the cabinet will likely take oath before the winter session of the assembly starts, BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar had said earlier in the day.
Fadnavis emerged as the frontrunner for the top post as he was the face of the BJP's campaign and led the party to victory in 132 seats in the 288-member House.
The BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP `Mahayuti' coalition has a commanding majority of 230 seats.
Not a moment when @Dev_Fadnavis wasn't smiling at his Star studded oath taking ceremony
— Nabila Jamal (@nabilajamal_) December 5, 2024
Great come back for Fadnavis as Chief Minister of #Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/XMPdSuVolc
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Family of injured driver in murder of Suvendu's aide seeks exemplary punishment
Kolkata (PTI): The family of Buddhabeb Bera, the driver injured in the shooting that killed BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's close aide Chandranath Rath, demanded exemplary punishment for those responsible and urged the new government to ensure such incidents do not happen in West Bengal.
Rath was shot dead in Madhyamgram near Kolkata on Wednesday night, triggering a political storm in the state. Bera, who was driving the vehicle at the time of the attack, sustained gunshot wounds and is currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital.
Family members said they learned about the incident through television and immediately left for Kolkata.
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"We came to know from TV reports that my nephew had been shot. We still do not know who carried out the attack or why it happened," Buddhabeb's uncle Biswajit Bera said.
"Our only wish now is that he recovers and returns home safely," he added.
Buddhabeb, 25, hails from Majnaberia village in the Chandipur police station area in Purba Medinipur district.
According to family members, he mostly stays in Kolkata for work and visits home occasionally during weekends.
Besides his parents, his younger brother, sister-in-law and several relatives have also travelled to Kolkata following the incident.
Demanding strict action against the perpetrators, the uncle said, "We want the government to conduct a proper investigation and identify those directly involved in the crime. They should be given exemplary punishment so that such incidents do not happen again in West Bengal and no other family has to go through this grief."
A neighbour, Ranjana Ghorai, also sought stringent punishment for those behind the attack.
"In our neighbourhood, we call him Sona. We want exemplary punishment for the people responsible for this incident," she said.
Rath's family members have demanded life imprisonment for the accused, while Adhikari has called for capital punishment for those involved in the killing.
