'ED ED' chants in Maharashtra Assembly as Shiv Sena MLAs from Uddhav Thackeray camp vote for Shinde govt

Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde had rebelled last month, eventually garnering the support of around 50 MLAs (both from the Sena as well as Independents and smaller party leaders). He was eventually sworn in as CM on June 30, a day after Uddhav Thackeray quit the post. BJP's Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the deputy CM.

TN National Desk

Updated Jul 4, 2022, 12:26 IST

Maharashtra Assembly

Photo : ANI

Mumbai: As the newly formed Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government breezed through a floor test, the Opposition was vociferous in its calls for the Enforcement Directorate to intervene. The lawmakers continued to hoot as some Shiv Sena MLAs who had so far supported Uddhav Thackeray decided to vote in favour of the Shinde government.

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis however was undaunted by the taunts. "Some people were issuing calls about the ED...but the only ED here is Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis," he quipped during his address after the floor test.

While the comment was intended as a jibe against those facing legal woes and investigations, it was also used to voice general annoyance with the Shiv Sena 'defectors'. Two MLAs from the Uddhav Thackeray faction - Santosh Bangar and Shyamsundar Shinde - had incidentally joined the Eknath Shinde camp just before the trust vote on Monday.

The Opposition lawmakers also shouted for the ED when Pratap Sarnaik - who faces a money-laundering investigation - supported the Shinde government during the trust vote.

A day earlier, amid voting for the Speaker election, Opposition MLAs had chanted 'ED, ED' while Sena's Yamini Yashwant Jadhav voted in favour of the Shinde-BJP camp's candidate. Her husband Yashwant Jadhav is incidentally under the ED radar connection with alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

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