Governor walks out, parties blame each other

MVA says Governor is laying ground for President’s rule. BJP says ruling coalition wanted to insult Koshyari with slogans

MUMBAI In the first instance of its kind in the state, Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Thursday ended his address to the state legislature’s budget session just two minutes after he began. Koshyari, who began his speech at 11 am amid sloganeering by both the treasury benches and the opposition, ended it at 11.02 am, leading the ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) legislators and opposition BJP members to blame each other. The incident marks a new phase in the rocky ties between the Uddhav Thackeray-led regime and Raj Bhavan.

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at Vidhan Bhavan on the first day of the Maharashtra Assembly Budget Session, in Mumbai, India, on Thursday. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

Following the incident, the state cabinet on Thursday decided to write to the President about the events and express its unhappiness over the Governor’s act of curtailing the speech. The letter, which will be written by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, will also highlight how the Governor did not even wait for the national anthem to be played after the speech.

Shiv Sena leader and state environment minister Aaditya Thackeray said it was an insult to Maharashtra, while Congress legislator and the party’s state unit chief Nana Patole said they were planning to move a motion in the legislature seeking Koshyari’s recall.

“Maharashtra has been insulted,” Aaditya Thackeray said. “The Governor leaving (mid-way), and his insult during his speech (due to the ruckus), both are wrong.” Patole said, “The Governor made objectionable statements. Does he have the support of Delhi to make such statements? He will have to apologise for it. If need be, a motion will be moved in the legislature asking for his recall and legal options are being examined.”

Patole was referring to Koshyari’s recent statement on how Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s mentor was Swami Ramdas (Saint Ramdas), a 17th century poet and philosopher. Last Sunday, Koshyari had said, “What would have we known about Shivaji Maharaj without Samarth Ramdas?”

Maratha outfits have been insisting that Saint Ramdas, a Bramhin, was not behind the warrior king’s success but his parents, Shahajiraje Bhosale and mother, Jijabai. In the Maharashtrian caste hierarchy, Marathas – though they the largest community in the state – are considered to be below Brahmins.

On Thursday, when Koshyari entered the Central Hall of Vidhan Bhavan at 11 am to address the joint session of the state legislature, he was greeted with sloganeering by MVA members hailing Shivaji. Koshyari asked the house to come to order for the national anthem. On the other hand, BJP legislators shouted slogans demanding ouster of minority affairs minister Nawab Malik of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), who was arrested last week by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money-laundering case allegedly involving the fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim. Some BJP legislators displayed placards seeking Malik’s resignation, and questioned whether the Maharashtra government was supporting Dawood.

After the national anthem was played, Koshyari began reading out his speech but the sloganeering continued. Amidst the din, an irked Koshyari ended his speech and left the hall at around 11:02 am without reading out his complete address, leaving legislators and ministers nonplussed.

Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis said, “The truth is, when the Governor wanted to start the national anthem, these people (MVA legislators) were shouting slogans. He requested them thrice that he wanted to start the national anthem, but the sloganeering continued. The MVA government must have made up its mind to insult the Governor.”

There was no statement by Raj Bhavan over Thursday’s incident.

Fadnavis moved a notice for an adjournment. He charged that the government was shielding a minister whose links with Dawood were established and the case Malik is facing was a case of terror funding. Home minister Dilip Walse Patil raised objections to the remarks by Fadnavis and requested the speaker to expunge them.

BJP lawmaker Ashish Shelar said, “It is the responsibility of the treasury benches to ensure smooth conduct of the house and they failed... the ruling party members were creating a ruckus when the Governor arrived. The Governor had to request them thrice to allow the national anthem to be played.”

MVA leaders said they were merely shouting slogans hailing Shivaji Maharaj. “I do not understand, doesn’t the Governor like slogans hailing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj? Did we shout slogans against the Governor,” said OBC welfare minister Vijay Wadettiwar of the Congress. “He should have waited for the national anthem... this is an insult to the nation,” he said. “Koshyari should decide if it is appropriate for him to occupy a constitutional position considering this “insult to the nation.” State NCP chief and water resources minister Jayant Patil echoed his remarks.

Political commentator Hemant Desai said: “The Governor has taken a combative position. This seems to be a fixed match between him and the BJP... The Governor should have completed his statement as it is a policy statement by the government. This (walk-out by the Governor) was unwarranted and has never happened in Maharashtra. This shows how vitiated the political environment in Maharashtra has become.” Desai noted that during the erstwhile BJP regime in 2014, five opposition MLAs had been suspended for blocking then Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao. Similarly, there had been sloganeering in the joint session during the tenure of then Governor S.M. Krishna.

MVA leaders claimed that this was part of BJP’s pattern to show a constitutional collapse in Maharashtra and impose President’s rule. The Governor’s combative stance is also expected to affect the plans to elect the Speaker. On February 9, the Uddhav Thackeray-led regime wrote to Raj Bhavan seeking permission to hold the Speaker’s election, but Koshyari’s reply is awaited.

In the winter session of the legislature, the government amended the rules for the Speaker’s election by allowing open voting instead of secret ballot to prevent cross-voting. However, the Governor said he was examining the constitutional legality of the amendment. The election was necessitated following the resignation of state Congress chief Patole from the post.

“What happened during the Governor’s speech today is condemnable,” said women and child development minister Yashomati Thakur. “This is a ploy to create turbulence in Maharashtra and impose President’s rule. The Governor must act according to protocol... he left without standing up for the national anthem. He is acting not as a Governor but as a BJP worker.”

A senior Congress leader said, “The BJP seems to be eager to impose President’s rule in Maharashtra and much depends on the outcome of the Uttar Pradesh state assembly polls.”

BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar denied MVA’s allegations of a possible President’s rule. “How can President’s rule be imposed like this? (But) there is a government but no governance... This is a silly contention. The law is clear about the circumstances in which President’s rule can be imposed.” He added that the BJP had no role to play in this and was not interested in dissolving the government and it was solely the prerogative of the President and Governor.

Meanwhile, the state cabinet on Thursday decided to apprise the President about the uproar during the joint address of the Governor. “Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is expected to write a letter to the president about the chaos during the three-minute speech of the governor. The state government will express its unhappiness over the Governor’s act of curtailing the speech. The letter will also highlight how the Governor did not wait for the national anthem to be played after the speech,” a minister said, requesting anonymity.

Another minister said that there was no any precedent of a motion being tabled to seek the recall of the Governor for curtailing his speech and not waiting for the national anthem.

(With inputs from Surendra P Gangan)