Ahead of the monsoon session of the legislature slated for July 5 and 6, Maharashtra Governor BS Koshyari has written to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, asking him to take a call on the demand by the Leader of the Opposition Devendra Fadnavis, to extend the duration of the session duration.
Further, said the governor’s letter, a BJP-delegation led by Devendra Fadnavis had visited Raj Bhavan on June 23 and submitted two memorandums. Apart from the demand for extending the monsoon session, there were demands for holding the election for the Assembly Speaker and the postponement of local body elections since the OBC reservation issue was still pending. The rural development department has already approached the Supreme Court with a plea to postpone local body elections by at least six months due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The Fadnavis-led delegation had strongly criticised the Maha Vikas Aghadi government for just a two-day monsoon session, as against their demand for at least 15 days. The delegation had claimed that the MVA government was trying to “run away” from issues concerning the common people and also from the democratic process.
The governor said all three issues were important to the state and asked the CM to apprise him of the action taken in this regard.
The CM had visited the Raj Bhavan on June 17, to wish the governor on his birthday. The gubernatorial missive comes even as the Maha Vikas Aghadi government has been criticising criticised the governor for sitting on the file pertaining to the nomination of 12 members to the Maharashtra Legislative Council for eight months now.
Earlier, there was a rift between Thackeray and Koshyari after the latter's letter on the reopening of temples in the state.
The governor had ridiculed Thackeray’s decision to reopen bars and restaurants in the state, and not temples or places of worship. “I wonder if you're receiving any divine premonition to keep postponing re-opening or you’ve suddenly turned ‘secular’, the term you hated?” the governor’s letter had taunted.
Meanwhile, the NCP and Congress have slammed the governor for his latest letter. NCP chief spokesman and Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik lashed out at the governor, asking the CM to hold the Speaker’s election. “However, the nomination of 12 members has been pending for a long time. If the governor clears their nomination, the legislators will be able to start their work for the development of the people,” he noted.
State Congress chief Nana Patole claimed that the Raj Bhavan had now become a BJP office. “The governor is working like an RSS activist. It is a constitutional post and the governor should maintain its dignity and honour. The BJP is trying to create a picture that the Speaker’s election will be held because of the governor’s letter to the CM. However, the Speaker’s election will take place in the assembly,” he said.
