House adjourned after Advocate General’s affidavit in the court that the Governor’s directive regarding equitable distribution of funds was not binding on the government.
Mumbai : Angered by the Advocate General’s stand that the Governor’s directive for the development of Vidarbha and Marathwada were not binding upon the government, both Opposition and ruling party MLAs forced the adjournment of the house for the day.
The assembly was adjourned on the proposition submitted by the Advocate General (AG) about the governor’s directive, under Article 371of the Constitution. This caused much embarrassment for the state government, as ruling party members from Vidarbha-Marathwada joined hands with the Opposition and forced the adjournment of the house. Article 371 of The Constitution of India, enacted in 1949, has a special provision with respect to the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat.
The lower house saw two adjournments on the issue before Speaker Dilip Walse Patil adjourned the house for the day, as opposition members demanded that the AG be summoned before the house to seek a clarification. BJP MLA Devendra Fadnavis raised the issue in the house and moved a privilege motion notice against the AG, Darius Khambata. He alleged that the AG, appearing in another case, took the stand that the governor’s directives under Article 371 (2) are not binding upon the state government.
“This is against the resolution passed by both houses of the state legislature. We have given powers to allocate funds for Vidarbha, Marathwada and the rest of Maharashtra and his directives were binding upon the state. But Khambata took a contrary stand to this resolution and this was an encroachment on the authority of the house,” Fadnavis alleged, while moving his privilege motion.
He said the AG should be summoned before the house so that he could be questioned on what grounds the affidavit had been made. The Speaker said he would do so if the need arose.
However, opposition members were not satisfied and rushed to the well, shouting slogans against the AG. Treasury bench members from Marathwada and Vidarbha were also up on their feet, demanding action against the AG.
The house had to be adjourned twice, once for 15 minutes and later, for 30 minutes, as the Speaker convened a meeting of group leaders in his chambers to resolve the issue. Leader of the Opposition, Eknath Khadse, also demanded to know with whose consent the affidavit had been made. “Aren’t Vidarbha and Marathwada parts of the state?” he questioned. With the members holding their ground on the issue, the Speaker adjourned the house for the day.
‘Governor’s directive always respected’
A PIL was filed by the Vidarbha Backlog Removal and Development Committee against supplying water to the Indiabulls Thermal Power Plant Project in the Amravati district of Vidarbha. As per the agreement, the government had agreed to divert 87.06 million cubic metres (mcm) water from the Upper Wardha dam project to the thermal power plant.
During the hearing of this case, the state government, under the title ‘propositions of Respondent No. 1 (state of Maharashtra) in respect of the Governor’s directives,’ said, “It is the equitable allocation of funds for development expenditure alone that falls within Article 371 (2) (B). The special responsibility of the governor is restricted to the matter of allocation of funds for development expenditure to intervene where there are regional imbalances in the proposed allocation of funds. Any reference to targets, deadlines or objectives of the physical work or elimination of physical backlog even if couched as directives by the Governor or any aspect of governance is given the highest respect by the state government and will be adhered to if possible, but is not a binding directive or decision under article 371(2).”
Opposition meets Governor
Replying to this issue in the legislative council, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar made it clear that the government will always adhere to the directives of the governor about the equitable allocation of funds. Shivajirao Deshmukh, chairman of the legislative council, has called for a meeting of the CM, the DCM, both leaders of the opposition and all group leaders on Friday. Opposition MLAs met Governor K. Sankaranarayanan and requested him to intervene. The Governor assured them that he would discuss the issue with the government.
l FPJ Political Bureau
Mumbai
Angered by the Advocate General’s stand that the Governor’s directive for the development of Vidarbha and Marathwada were not binding upon the government, both Opposition and ruling party MLAs forced the adjournment of the house for the day.
The assembly was adjourned on the proposition submitted by the Advocate General (AG) about the governor’s directive, under Article 371of the Constitution. This caused much embarrassment for the state government, as ruling party members from Vidarbha-Marathwada joined hands with the Opposition and forced the adjournment of the house. Article 371 of The Constitution of India, enacted in 1949, has a special provision with respect to the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat.
The lower house saw two adjournments on the issue before Speaker Dilip Walse Patil adjourned the house for the day, as opposition members demanded that the AG be summoned before the house to seek a clarification. BJP MLA Devendra Fadnavis raised the issue in the house and moved a privilege motion notice against the AG, Darius Khambata. He alleged that the AG, appearing in another case, took the stand that the governor’s directives under Article 371 (2) are not binding upon the state government.
“This is against the resolution passed by both houses of the state legislature. We have given powers to allocate funds for Vidarbha, Marathwada and the rest of Maharashtra and his directives were binding upon the state. But Khambata took a contrary stand to this resolution and this was an encroachment on the authority of the house,” Fadnavis alleged, while moving his privilege motion.
He said the AG should be summoned before the house so that he could be questioned on what grounds the affidavit had been made. The Speaker said he would do so if the need arose.
However, opposition members were not satisfied and rushed to the well, shouting slogans against the AG. Treasury bench members from Marathwada and Vidarbha were also up on their feet, demanding action against the AG.
The house had to be adjourned twice, once for 15 minutes and later, for 30 minutes, as the Speaker convened a meeting of group leaders in his chambers to resolve the issue. Leader of the Opposition, Eknath Khadse, also demanded to know with whose consent the affidavit had been made. “Aren’t Vidarbha and Marathwada parts of the state?” he questioned. With the members holding their ground on the issue, the Speaker adjourned the house for the day.
‘Governor’s directive
always respected’
A PIL was filed by the Vidarbha Backlog Removal and Development Committee against supplying water to the Indiabulls Thermal Power Plant Project in the Amravati district of Vidarbha. As per the agreement, the government had agreed to divert 87.06 million cubic metres (mcm) water from the Upper Wardha dam project to the thermal power plant.
During the hearing of this case, the state government, under the title ‘propositions of Respondent No. 1 (state of Maharashtra) in respect of the Governor’s directives,’ said, “It is the equitable allocation of funds for development expenditure alone that falls within Article 371 (2) (B). The special responsibility of the governor is restricted to the matter of allocation of funds for development expenditure to intervene where there are regional imbalances in the proposed allocation of funds. Any reference to targets, deadlines or objectives of the physical work or elimination of physical backlog even if couched as directives by the Governor or any aspect of governance is given the highest respect by the state government and will be adhered to if possible, but is not a binding directive or decision under article 371(2).”
