Will Maharashtra guv clear all 12 MLC nominees easily?

After the Bombay high court’s (HC) remarks over the nomination of the 12 members for the legislative Council from the governor’s quota and the subsequent meeting between Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi, some development is expected over the issue, which has been a reason for the ongoing friction between the Raj Bhavan and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government

After the Bombay high court’s (HC) remarks over the nomination of the 12 members for the legislative Council from the governor’s quota and the subsequent meeting between Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi, some development is expected over the issue, which has been a reason for the ongoing friction between the Raj Bhavan and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

The 12 names recommended to the governor from the fields of literature, science and art, social service and cooperative movement are as per the provision of filling a sixth of the posts in the upper house of the state legislature. (HT File)

Raj Bhavan officials opined that Koshyari is unlikely to clear the proposal easily and may raise questions over some of the recommendations made by the MVA government.

The 12 names recommended to the governor from the fields of literature, science and art, social service and cooperative movement are as per the provision of filling a sixth of the posts in the upper house of the state legislature. The MVA government, ruled by Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, had recommended four names each to Koshyari last November for the posts, which are lying vacant since May-June last year. But he has not taken any decision on the names. MVA leaders have been accusing Koshyari of playing politics over the nominations.

In response to a petition, HC had on Friday said that the governor is duty-bound to declare his decision on the nominations within a “reasonable time” and the failure to do so defeats the statutory intent. HC also said that the governor should have communicated his reservations about the list to the chief minister (CM) instead of keeping the posts vacant indefinitely, which amounts to an unreasonable time lapse.

The MVA government’s council of ministers, led by CM Uddhav Thackeray, had submitted the list of 12 members recommended to be appointed by the governor on November 6. The list included the names of actor Urmila Matondkar, Vijay Karanjkar, Nitin Bangude-Patil and Chandrakant Raghuvanshi from the Shiv Sena; farmers’ leader Raju Shetti, former minister Eknath Khadse, Yashpal Bhinge and folk singer Anand Shinde from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP); and Rajni Patil, Sachin Sawant, Anniruddha Vankar and Muzaffar Hussain from the Congress.

“Though the governor’s meeting in Delhi on Friday evening was a scheduled earlier, the duo [Shah and Koshyari] must have discussed the remarks by the court. The governor will now have to act upon the state government’s recommendations, but it does not mean that all the 12 names will be cleared immediately. In 2015, the then Uttar Pradesh governor and former BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) leader Ram Naik had deferred the appointments to the Council recommended by the Samajwadi Party government in the state. After a lot of noise, Naik had cleared a few of the nine names recommended. Koshyari, too, is likely to adopt a similar approach after the court remarks,” said a Raj Bhavan official, requesting anonymity.

“The recommendations of the council of ministers are binding on the Governor as Article 163 says: There shall be a council of ministers with the CM as the head to aid and advice the governor. It also adds that the discretionary powers of the governor exist for constitutional reasons, under which the appointment of the 12 members does not fall. In this case, under Article 167, the governor can raise queries related to credentials of the nominees from the respective fields they have been recommended. But ultimately, the power of the decision over whether any particular nominee fits into the recommended category lies with the cabinet and not the governor,” said constitutional expert Ulhas Bapat, adding that in his opinion the time taken by the Maharashtra governor to clear the proposal is unreasonable.

After the MVA government had made the recommendation in November, Naik had said: “The governor cannot replace his own name as the recommendation by the cabinet is binding on him, but he can seek clarification from the government on the proposal. I released the first list of four out of nine recommended names after three months and refused to clear the remaining ones as there were criminal and income tax cases against them. The then CM Akhilesh Yadav had to replace the names, which were later approved.”

“We hope that the honourable governor will clear the names as soon as possible. I don’t know if the meeting between Koshyariji and Amit Shahji was in the capacity of their constitutional posts or as former party colleagues, but we expect the recommendations to be cleared now,” state minority affairs minister and NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said.

Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe said, “The constitutional provisions can’t be different in two different states. The nominations made by the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar after being elected last November were cleared by the governor within days. How could there be a different treatment in Maharashtra while dealing with the similar constitutional affairs? The governor will have to reply to this question,” he said.