Is Raj Bhavan under political pressure?

Cabinet again recommends Uddhav Thackeray’s name for Governor Nominated quota

The State Cabinet chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Monday for the second time recommended name of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to be appointed as the Member of Upper House (Council) from Governor’s Nominated members quota. The cabinet had on April 3 had recommended Thackeray’s name to the Governor. However, Maharashtra Governor BhagatSingh Koshyari has till date did not take any decision on the cabinet’s recommendation. Meanwhile, Thackeray-Governor meeting is expected on Tuesday evening.

In the absence of CM Thackeray, Pawar chaired the cabinet meeting. According to constitutional expert, State Cabinet is supreme than any minister or CM and its recommendations are bound to be accepted by the Governor and that he cannot reject it.

The sixth-month term of Uddhav from the date after he took oath of the office of CM on November 28, 2019, will get over on May 28. According to the Constitutional provisions, Thackeray must become a member of either House – Upper of Lower – before May 27. For Governor, he has 30 days in hands to take final decision about Thackeray’s nomination.

Sanjay Raut, Rajya Sabha member of Shiv Sena and party spokesperson had lashed out at the Governor and had accused the Governor of playing politics, “Raj Bhavan, Governor’s house shouldn’t become the centre for political conspiracy. Remember! History doesn’t spare those who behave unconstitutionally,” Raut had tweeted on April 19. 

“Raut has unnecessarily raised questions at an inappropriate time. He should have waited till May 27. The period of the month to make the decision for Governor is more than enough,” said a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader who did not wish to named.

Ashish Shelar, former Mumbai BJP president had said that Governor is a constitutional post and he should not be criticised. The Governor has given rights in the democracy and he will make a decision. Governor should not be pressurised,” Shelar had tweeted. 

Both Sena and BJP are claiming that Governor being brought under pressure by leaders of rival parties. Is the Governor really under pressure? TheNews21 speak with few political leaders and expert. In Coronavirus pandemic crisis and the political crisis related to Thackeray’s appointment, nobody was ready to come 7openly to praise or criticism of the Governors role.

The gist of the discussion was that Governor might be waiting for the lifting of the lockdown which is at present imposed till May 3. “Suppose, the lockdown period will be extended by another 10 days or more, then it would not be possible to leave the state in the politically precarious situation in which there would no chief minister for the state for few hours or few days. In that situation, the Governor would approve the recommendation of the state cabinet. 

According to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) insider, party Chief Sharad Pawar had insisted Thackeray to take command of the state administration, as Pawar has no faith on the capability of Eknath Shinde and Subhash Desai to run the state administration. “In today’s political crisis, Pawar is likely to intervene and may speak with Prime Minister Narendra Modi or union home minister Amit Shah to resolve the political issue,” claimed the NCP source.

CM-Governor meet on Tuesday

Justice Dipankar Datta has been appointed as the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court. He will take oath from Governor on Tuesday, April 28 at Raj Bhavan at 5 pm in the evening. CM Uddhav Thackeray will be present on the occasion. There could be possibility of talks being held between both the leaders regarding cabinet recommendations. Justice Dipankar Datta of the Calcutta High Court has been elevated by the President Ram Nath Kovind to CJ at Bombay HC. Amidst nationwide lockdown conditions and with no vehicle, train or any airplane to travel, Justice Datta travelled about 2,000 Km journey from Kolkatta to Mumbai by road.

“Governor Koshyari had welcomed Uddhav and his wife Rashmi when they went to meet Governor at Raj Bhavan after taking oath as CM and at that time, Governor had kept protocol aside and recieved the CM at the door. This indicates Governor has no personal issue with Thackeray,” the BJP leader recalled and said that Raut is frustrated and he must learn to have patience.

9 MLC who retired recently

Meanwhile, the term of 9 Members of Upper House elected from the assembly constituency ended on April 24 last week. The nine MLCs who retired included deputy Chairperson Dr Neelam Gorhe (Shiv Sena), Chandrakant Raghuvanshi and Haribhau Rathod (Congress). Three-member of NCP included Hemant Takale, Anand Thakur and Kiran Pawaskar.  BJP’s Smita Wagh, Arun Adsad and Prithviraj Deshmukh.