Maharashtra: MVA delegation meets Governor, seeks nod for MLC names

The governor has assured them to take a final decision soon, a leader from the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government said

Nine months after recommending 12 names as nominations to the post of members of the legislative council, a three-member delegation led by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray met governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Wednesday evening and requested him to clear the appointments. The governor has assured them to take a final decision soon, a leader from the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government said. The delegation comprised deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar (NCP) and state revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat (Congress).

Chief Minister Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Minister of Revenue BB Thorat, and Governor BS Koshyari at Raj Bhavan. (PTI)

The appointment of 12 members has become a major friction point between Koshyari and the three-party coalition government in Maharashtra. It has been 20 days since the Bombay high court said the governor is constitutionally obligated to either accept or reject the proposal sent by the state within reasonable time. The verdict was passed by the court on August 13, while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed against the governor’s inaction on the recommendations made by the Thackeray government.

“We requested the governor to see if the decision can be taken early as it would help in the functioning of the state legislature. We said it was our request to accept the recommendation even though it is your right to take a decision,” Pawar told reporters outside Raj Bhavan after their meeting with Koshyari.

“He (governor) has no objection to any of the names recommended by the state government. The governor told us that he has heard everything and will take a final decision soon,” he added.

Thorat said, “We discussed almost all major issues of the state such as floods, monsoon, Covid-19 and at the end requested him to take a decision on appointing MLCs.”

The MVA leaders wanted to meet the governor last Wednesday, but Koshyari denied an appointment owing to prior appointments, it is said. Raj Bhavan said the communication for seeking an appointment from the government started only after 4pm and it was not possible for the governor to meet them owing to prior appointments.

The governor nominates 12 persons from different walks of life as members of the legislative council (MLCs) for a period of six years. The appointment is to be made on the recommendations made by the state cabinet. Most of the seats have been vacant since June last year. The state had approved the names in November 2020, but they are yet to be appointed.

The list submitted to the governor included the names of Vijay Karanjkar, Urmila Matondkar, Nitin Bangude-Patil and Chandrakant Raghuvanshi from the Shiv Sena; Eknath Khadse, Raju Shetti, Yashpal Bhinge and Anand Shinde from the NCP; and Rajni Patil, Sachin Sawant, Anniruddha Vankar and Muzaffar Hussain from the Congress.