The tacit turf war between chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde has intensified, expressed in a ‘file war’.
In a break from ministerial norm, Shinde has asked all the ministers who belong to his party, Shiv Sena, to route all their files through him before they are sent to CM Fadnavis for a final nod. People in the know have told HT that this was brought into practice over the last two weeks by ministers (nine cabinet ministers and two state ministers) of the party. On the other hand, Fadnavis recently directed the urban development department (UDD), helmed by Shinde, to send all the files related to funds and ongoing schemes directly to his office.
Meanwhile, Shinde’s diktat, followed by departments such as industries, health, education and transport, among others, has resulted in a pile-up at his desk. According to officials of respective departments, “several major proposals are stuck because of the tussle between the two”.
An official from the transport department said, “When Shinde issued the mandate, bureaucrats pointed out the established protocol – that the files should first go to deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who is also the finance minister, and then to Shinde, before they are sent to Fadnavis for the final nod. The set procedure was also reinforced by the general administration department (GAD), soon after Mahayuti formed the government in December last year. However, now the files are sent to Shinde by the offices of respective Sena ministers.”
“Shinde’s diktat is a defiance of an established order,” said an official from Mantralaya. The deputy chief minister issued it after he realised that the funds allocated to departments held by his party were inadequate. According to the rules, funds are supposed to be equally distributed to ministers across parties; however, Shinde was keen that Sena ministers get the better share, said a Sena leader. Shinde had reportedly reprimanded one of his ministers for frequently meeting Fadnavis as he felt that the proposals moved by the minister were under the influence of the CM. “By asking his ministers to send the files first to him, he also wants the proposals to be prepared in such a manner that the party benefits the most out of them and elected representatives from the party get maximum funds,” the leader said.
{{/usCountry}}“Shinde’s diktat is a defiance of an established order,” said an official from Mantralaya. The deputy chief minister issued it after he realised that the funds allocated to departments held by his party were inadequate. According to the rules, funds are supposed to be equally distributed to ministers across parties; however, Shinde was keen that Sena ministers get the better share, said a Sena leader. Shinde had reportedly reprimanded one of his ministers for frequently meeting Fadnavis as he felt that the proposals moved by the minister were under the influence of the CM. “By asking his ministers to send the files first to him, he also wants the proposals to be prepared in such a manner that the party benefits the most out of them and elected representatives from the party get maximum funds,” the leader said.
{{/usCountry}}On the other hand, during the recently concluded monsoon session of the state legislature, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs complained to Fadnavis that special assistance for schemes in the assembly constituencies were being given to Shiv Sena MLAs at the expense of BJP lawmakers. “Ahead of the ensuing elections to the corporations and municipal councils, the funds under the special assistance head, reserved for infra projects, corporations and municipal councils, which is the discretion of the UDD minister, were being diverted to the constituencies of one party. This has been happening since Shinde’s stint as the CM. The CM’s order was to eradicate what seems a biased approach,” said a senior official from the chief minister’s office (CMO).
When asked about the ‘file war’, industries minister Uday Samant told HT, “All the three parties have very good coordination between them. It is not true that there is infighting or rift between the ruling parties over the files.”