MVA awaits SC decision on Speaker election

After Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari refused to give his nod for the election of the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker citing that the issue was sub-judice, MVA decided to avoid any confrontation

Mumbai After Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari refused to give his nod for the election of the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker citing that the issue was sub-judice, the MVA coalition decided to avoid any confrontation.

Sena leader and chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut said that they did not expect this from the Governor despite MVA ministers meeting him last week on the Speaker issue (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

“It is obvious that the Speaker may not be elected in the ongoing budget session of the legislature…We have no option but to wait for the apex court’s decision. There is no point in confronting the Governor at this point,” said a senior MVA minister.

Anil Parab, minister for parliamentary affairs, said that the SC had not imposed a stay on the change of the rules. “The Governor has written to us saying that the matter is sub-judice. The HC struck down two petitions against the rules being changed…although this has been challenged in the SC, the apex court has not imposed any stay on the amendments. We feel that hence, there was no harm in the Governor granting his permission to the elections,” added Parab.

Shiv Sena also came down heavily on Koshyari. Sena leader and chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut said that they did not expect this from the Governor despite MVA ministers meeting him last week on the issue. Raut said that the Governor was playing politics from Raj Bhavan and questioned his continuation on the post.

“We did not expect this from the Governor. When the cabinet has made the recommendations and the ministers have been meeting him regularly, but the governor is not willing to fill the vacant posts then it means that he is indulging in politics for the party that he comes from,” Raut said in New Delhi, and added, “Time and again Maharashtra governor has taken a stand that breaks the law or is unconstitutional, and therefore keeping such a person on the post does not suit the party which keeps raking up the memories of Emergency.”

Following several requests by the MVA government, the Governor’s secretariat on Tuesday replied to the Parliamentary affairs department that since the matter was sub-judice, the date for the election of Speaker cannot be fixed.

In December 2021, during the winter session of the state legislature, the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA had amended the rules for the speaker to be elected by open voting instead of secret ballot. The government said it was being done to ensure transparency and prevent horse-trading. On the other hand, the opposition BJP said that the ruling coalition was afraid that its MLAs would vote against the official candidate, which could lead to collapse of the government.

However, Koshyari did not give a date for the elections during the winter session and said he would check the constitutional validity of these amendments. This marked a fresh flashpoint in the already stormy ties between the MVA regime and Raj Bhawan.

BJP MLA Girish Mahajan had filed a petition in the Bombay High Court (HC) challenging the Maharashtra government’s December 23 notification amending rules 6 and 7 of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Rules, 1960, replacing the secret ballot method with an open voting system through voice vote and show of hands. However, the HC dismissed the plea and Mahajan has now moved the SC.

In the MVA’s power-sharing arrangement, the Congress holds the position of the speaker, which has been vacant for over a year. Nana Patole, president, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) was the speaker of the state legislative assembly but had stepped down in February 2021 after being appointed as the state Congress chief.

Some Congress leaders want the government to brazen it out and proceed with the elections sans Koshyari’s nod. However, other voices from within the party, and also the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) advise restraint. “The procedure for the election, wherein the dates are announced by the Governor remains unchanged, it is only the rules for the polling that have been changed, and upheld by the HC,” explained a Sena minister. He added that this stood the risk of being challenged in court and being declared null and void, thus becoming a bigger embarrassment for the MVA.

A senior Congress legislator too questioned the logic of such a demand. “The BJP is said to be preparing a case for President’s rule to be imposed in Maharashtra. This will strengthen their case,” he added.

Knives are out in the Congress for Patole. “Resigning as the speaker without considering the possible repercussions was a mistake,” lamented a Congress minister. Patole could not be contacted for his reactions despite repeated attempts.