Rajnath Singh was in Lucknow to pay his tribute to martyred jawans (File)
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said it was the prerogative of the governor to invite a party to form a government.
The comments came after BJP's Devendra Fadnavis and NCP leader Ajit Pawar took oath as the Maharashtra chief minister and deputy chief minister respectively on Saturday. The unexpected development took place a day after Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray emerged as the Sena-NCP-Congress' candidate for the top post.
"At this point of time in this programme, I do not wish to make any political statement. It was the prerogative of the governor," Mr Singh said at an event in Lucknow.
"The governor invited the person (to form the government) after he was satisfied."
Later, in a tweet, he congratulated Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar for taking oath.
"Congratulations to Shri @Dev_Fadnavis and Shri Ajit Pawar on taking oath as the chief minister and deputy chief minister of Maharashtra. I am extremely confident that they will jointly work for the progress and prosperity of the state."
At the 172nd Defence Pension Adalat, Mr Singh paid tributes to ex-servicemen and their families in Lucknow.
Addressing a gathering at the AMC Stadium, he said, "We are proud of the jawans and equally proud of our ex-servicemen. I know that even today, there are many ex-servicemen, who if the need arises, can discharge their duty with the same level of confidence. I am assured of this," he said.