CM Devendra Fadnavis claims he is at loss of words to thank the citizens of Nagpur
Nagpur.
The new Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis showed his humbleness and meekness by not travelling in the chartered flight he is entitled to, instead chose to travel by Jet Airlines which landed at Babasaheb Ambedkar International Nagpur Airport at 4:30 pm.
After landing the crowds poured onto the streets by thousands. People locked their houses and were seen ready to welcome our very own son-of-the-soil Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. This was not a crowd which politicians usually garner for the sake of money. There was genuine love and affection to see him and wave to him. Nagpur Today saw physically disabled, old people joining the crowd at various squares just to have a glimpse of the new CM. People of all ages be it small children to old people everybody thronged the squares to welcome him.
At almost all the squares, the citizens blocked his motorcade, showered garlands and Rose petals. Fire-crackers were set off the moment the motorcade reached the squares. At Bajaj Nagar Square, A model Helicopter flew over the the motorcade and suddenly dropped a poster claiming “Now starts the rule of Devendra”. Another model plane which had the BJP symbol lotus fully lit up and made rounds over the motorcade.
While witnessing the genuine love and adoration for the new CM, even the cops who were manning the various squares for security and order, opined that “Aaj Lokanchey Hakachey Diwas Ahey Fadnavis la bhetna Karita. Udya Pasoon, 70-80 cha speed madhe motorcade zanar.” (Meaning today is the people’s right to welcome Fadnavis. Tomorrow onwards, the motorcade will go at a speed of 70-80 KMPH speed.)
At Jerryl Lawns, the owner Jerryl sat on a horse and gifted Devendra Fadnavis with a sword, while at Laxminagar square, garlands showered on him. He alighted the motorcade at Laxminagar Square and went to Deekshabhoomi to pay respects to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and to seek blessing of Lord Buddha.
He rejoined the motorcade and at Shankarnagar Square, a very old lady climbed a ladder to bless him, fix a tilak on his forehead and to kiss him. This was the most touching scene since Devendra Fadnavis hugged the old lady and ensured that his followers ensure safe alighting of the old lady.
After that he reached the Trikoni Park ground at around 8:30 pm.
The fanatic and very jubilant fan following that he has ensured that every square especially the Coffee House Square erupted with a series of fire-crackers that practically lit up the sky with myriad designs.
The joy and sheer pleasure of beholding a person who has met them, played with them, sat with them is now a Chief Minister was worth watching.
At the dais, all the newly elected MLAs from Nagpur district were seated on pre-named seats. The Mayor Praveen Datke, Deputy Mayor Munna Pokulwar and Chairman of the Standing Committee Narendra Borkar got the opportunity to garland and welcome the new Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Later one by one all the MLAs garlanded him in a very systematic manner. For security reasons, others could not garland him nor shower flowers at him.
The meeting was compered by Sandeep Joshi. He invited Former MP Banwarilal Purohit to bless the new Chief Minister. He started his speech by saying that never has he ever seen such a welcome according by the citizens of the city to anyone before today. He lauded Devendra Fadnavis for what he was and what he is today. He claimed that he will certainly succeed, since he has reached where he is today by sheer grit and hard work which he did for the people of the city.
On public demand and shouting of Deven Deven, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis started his address. He started his speech by saying that he does not know how to thank the citizens for the very emotional and rousing welcome that he received. He claimed that for once, he is falling short of words to thank the citizens. He added that the love and affection shown by the citizens spoke volumes. He said that he knows that every single petal, every single flower, every flower in the garland spoke of the hopes and desires of the citizens of Nagpur. He claimed that he will never ever let the reputation of the city to go down.
He then came onto business and said that there is a change in the reign in Maharashtra. For the first time BJP came to power in the state after 67 years. He claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speech had appealed to the masses to bring BJP to power so that they can bring about change in Maharashtra, which the masses heeded and voted BJP to power in Maharashtra.
He thanked the leaders of Parliamentary Board of BJP which includes Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, JP Nadda, and others who unanimously chose him to be the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
However, he added that he has reached where he is today only because people of Nagpur bestowed trust on him and had elected him, which BJP endorsed.
He claimed that there is now going to be significant changes in Maharashtra. He added that in the very first Cabinet Meeting held in Mumbai, they have mooted the “Right to Service Bill” which will soon get passed. He claimed that till date one had to face so much red-tapism, bureaucracy, corruption and lethargy by officials in government offices. It will no more happen. The citizens will have a Right to Service which they will employ and get services done by government servants.
He also claimed that they are going to revamp the Lokayukta. This till date does not have right to take punitive action against erring officials. For the past 15 years, the bill to empower Lokayukta has been pending inspite of repeated demands. However, now, they are planning to revamp it and give them rights to penalize and punish the erring officials.
He then said that in a Finance Ministries presentation which he witnessed last night, he said that the previous government has passed many projects which if put into action will land the Maharashtra Government into a debt of Rs 52,000 crores. He also claimed that there is a revenue deficit too of Rs 24,000 crores. However, the new government in the state will remove all backlogs and ensure a smooth governance. He claimed that we will function on the lines of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj who gave a war cry of “Not to Cry but to Fight”.
Coming to Vidarbha, he said that there is a lot of backlogs. The first and the foremost is MIHAN Project which was practically shelved by the previous government. He claimed that he will start the work on removing all hindrances and obstacles that can ensure that MIHAN starts off in full-fledge soon. He said that he has called a meeting of all the officials of MIHAN project on November 3, 2014 to review the status and check the obstacles.
He also dwelt on issues like Farmer’s suicide. He said that till Vidarbha and Marathwada develops, Maharashtra will not see qualitative development.
The Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis promised the citizens of Nagpur that he will not let down the hope and the faith that has been bestowed on him and he shall strive to fulfill the promises he made. He claimed that he shall rule on the “Guru Mantra” given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi where he said that “Sarkar Bachaney Key Liye Sarkar Mat Chalao, Par Janata Ki Sewa Ke Liye Sarkar Chalao, Woh Tumhen Fir Sey Chun Ke Layegi, Agar Tumhari Sarkar Chali Bhi Gayee Toh”. (Don’t run Government for the sake of saving it. Run the Government for service of people. They will elect you again even if your Government is gone while serving the people).
He claimed that he is going to consider everyday a challenge and will work as if he has only today as the last day to work. He claimed that just as in a Cricket 20-20 match, every ball, every run and every over is important, every day is going to be important for him from today onwards.
He also claimed that the day he does not function and serve the people, he will resign and sit at home.
While concluding his speech, he said that all of us do get carried away while welcoming our favourite leader, but we should not forget the motto and the new aim of “Swatcha Bharat”. So we should ensure that we should not litter the streets with garbage and should consciously strive to ensure cleanliness.
