After Rajnath, Ammar backs Maha guv’s move

A day after defence minister Rajnath Singh backed Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari’s move to install a BJP-led government in Maharashtra, former Congress

A day after defence minister Rajnath Singh backed Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari’s move to install a BJP-led government in Maharashtra, former Congress minister Ammar Rizvi on Sunday claimed that any dissent against the governor’s move was uncalled for.

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Rizvi, who also heads the All India Minorities’ Forum For Democracy and joined the BJP in Delhi little ahead of the Supreme Court’s November 9 Ayodhya verdict, said, “The governor strictly acted as per the spirit enshrined in Articles 163 and 164 of the Constitution of India.”

“I am ready to debate the decision with anyone willing to entertain a logical view. Governor Koshiyari first invited the leader of the single largest party, which happened to be the BJP. After BJP, the governor consulted other parties and offered them an opportunity to explore government formation. Subsequently, when elected lawmakers backed the BJP, the governor decided to administer oath of office and secrecy to Devendra Fadnavis,” Rizvi said.

“The opposition was a victim of indecision. They were more interested in discussing plum portfolios and are now needlessly blaming the governor, BJP and those lawmakers who supported the BJP in Maharashtra,” he said.

Citing Article 163-2-3 of the Constitution, he said, “If any question arises whether any matter is, or is not a matter, as respect which the Governor is, by or under this Constitution, required to act in his discretion, the decision of the Governor in his discretion shall be final, and the validity of anything done by the Governor shall not be called in question on the ground that he ought or ought not to have acted in his discretion. The question whether any, and if so what, advice was tendered by ministers to the governor shall not be inquired into in any court.”