'Humiliated' Shiv Sena not to attend swearing-in ceremony

Mumbai: Amidst the uncertainty over Shiv Sena's role in the formation of the new government in Maharashtra, the party today said its leaders would not attend Chief Minister-designate Devendra Fadnavis's swearing-in here tomorrow.

Uddhav Thackeray

"We have constantly been humiliated by the BJP, which has not gone down well with our MLAs. As our MLAs feel that BJP did not give us due respect, why should we attend the oath-taking ceremony?" Sena MP Vinayak Raut said here.

Raut was talking to reporters after meeting the Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray.

When asked if the scheduled meeting of Shiv Sena and BJP leaders for discussing possible alliance had been called off, Raut said no talks had been scheduled, so there was no question of cancellation.

Earlier, BJP general secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy had told PTI that it was unlikely that anybody from Shiv Sena will be sworn in tomorrow. "Talks with Sena are on in an amicable atmosphere...but there has been no outcome yet," he had said.

Fadnavis, a four-term MLA from Nagpur, will be administered the oath of office by Governor C Vidyasagar Rao at Wankhede Stadium in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several of his Cabinet colleagues, chief ministers of BJP-ruled states, corporate leaders, Bollywood stars and other celebrities.