For the chief minister of the state, tehsildar is, comparatively, a very low rung official, as far as the hierarchy of the state administration is concerned.
However, CM Uddhav Thackeray took everyone by surprise when he escorted a tehsildar to his seat and asked him to work for the people! People are now praising Thackeray for his modesty and the respect he gave to the lower rung official.
The CM was on a visit to Sangli district two days ago. There, he inaugurated a beautiful building of the Walava tehsil office in Islampur, Sangli. After cutting the ribbon, the CM and all the other dignitaries began inspecting the halls of the building, as usual. They then entered the office hall of the tehsildar on the lower floor and started looking at the structure of the office.
Sitting on the tehsildar's chair for a while, Thackeray suddenly got up and grabbed the hand of Tehsildar Ravindra Sabnis, who was standing a short distance away, and brought him to the chair. "This chair is yours ... sit here," he told the tehsildar. However, Sabnis wasn't ready to sit in the chair, as all his senior officers and ministers were in the cabin. Looking at his reluctance, the CM added with a smile, "This is my order!" "This is your office building and your cabin. You are the chief here," he told the tehsildar.
Sabnis couldn't refuse and sat on the chair, while Thackeray stood besides him. The CM also patted his back with the words, “You are in this important position. I have given this chair. Now, it's your duty to serve the people efficiently."
"The CM inaugurated and left, but since then, whenever I sit in my chair in this new hall, I feel like the CM, himself, is standing besides me," said Sabnis.
