Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday said that his government belongs to common people where nobody will be insulted and every community will be respected.

“Ours is a government of common people. Ours is a government where nobody will be insulted. Every community will be respected and taken forward. The state will be taken forward and the process of development will be taken forward,” Shinde told media persons in Mumbai. Earlier on Monday, Shinde hit back at Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar who raised doubts over the survival of the Shinde-Fadnavis government and asserted that his government will complete his term, adding that the alliance will win 200 seats in the next Assembly polls.

“Sharad Pawar is a big leader, but whatever he says is just the opposite of fact. So we will complete 2.5 years of governance; next time, we’ll have 200 MLAs, 100 ours and 100 BJP’s,” Shinde said at a press conference soon after winning the crucial floor test in the state Assembly on the last day of the two-day special session of the House.

He also said that in the next Assembly polls, his alliance with BJP will win with 200 MLAs.

The Chief Minister went ahead and warned the Uddhav Thackeray group of action for violating their whip, the chief minister said, “They (Uddhav Thackeray camp) are regularly going to Courts and even today went to Supreme Court. Bharat Gogawale is our whip and I am the legislative party leader. Action will be taken against those who violated our whip.”

“All MLAs who voted in our favour today will support Droupadi Murmu (NDA’s candidate) in Presidential polls…,” he said on the upcoming presidential polls that are scheduled to be held on July 18.

Shinde on Thursday took oath as the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Along with him, Devendra Fadnavis also took an oath as deputy chief minister of the state.

Meanwhile, Shinde won the crucial floor test in the state Assembly on the last day of the two-day special session of the House. In the 288-member House, 164 MLAs voted for the motion of confidence, while 99 voted against it. Three legislators abstained from voting, while 21 legislators, including Congress’s Ashok Chavan and Vijay Wadettiwar, were absent.

He also said the state government will reduce value-added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel. A decision to reduce VAT on fuel will be taken in the state Cabinet, Shinde informed the Legislative House, while replying to a debate after he won the floor test.