Anyone with self-respect will not continue in post, NCP chief Sharad Pawar slams governor Koshyari

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday upped the ante against Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari over his “secular” taunt at chief

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday upped the ante against Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari over his “secular” taunt at chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray last week. Pawar said anyone with self-respect would have resigned from the position of governor after being publicly rebuked by Union home minister Amit Shah.

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“What can I say about the governor? The Union minister for home affairs has spoken about him… I have come across several governors in my long political career, but no one has taken such a stand. A governor must uphold the dignity of the office. He is also expected to maintain the dignity of a CM’s office,” Pawar said. “It is good Shah rebuked him. I believe a person who has self-respect will not continue in the post after being publicly reprimanded by the Union minister for home affairs,” said the veteran leader, who was in Osmanabad as part of his two-day tour to flood-hit areas in central Maharashtra.

The state’s BJP unit shot back, questioning Pawar’s self-respect over “forming an unnatural alliance in the state to form the government”.

Party spokesperson Keshav Upadhye said, “Where was Pawar’s self-respect when he chose to make an unnatural alliance with Shiv Sena to form the government in the state?. We believe there are many issues the state is facing at present. Instead of commenting on the governor’s statement, concentration should be more on issues such as providing relief to flood-affected farmers.”

Koshyari recently wrote to the CM about unlocking places of worship from the Covid-19 lockdown and asked if Thackeray, who is also president of the ruling Shiv Sena, had “suddenly turned secular”. His remark triggered a war of words with the CM, as the latter reminded him in a letter that secularism was one of the tenets of the Constitution that he swore upon when taking oath as Maharashtra governor. In a recent interview to a TV news channel, Shah said Koshyari could have chosen his words better.“I have gone through the letter. He has made a passing reference. However, I feel he should have been more restrained in his choice of words,” Shah has said.

Before this, Pawar had written a letter to prime minister Narendra Modi over Koshyari’s letter, saying he was “shocked and surprised” at the language used.

“In the very preamble of our Constitution the word ‘secular’ is added that equates and shields all religions and hence the chair of the chief minister must uphold such tenets of the Constitution. Unfortunately, hon. governor’s letter to the chief minister invokes the connotation as if written to the leader of a political party. I firmly believe that in a democracy, free exchange of views between the hon. governor and the hon. chief minister must take place,” Pawar said in his letter to PM Modi.

“However, the tone and tenor used must always be in keeping with the stature of the constitutional post occupied by the individuals. Looking at the turn of events, the chief minister in fact was left with no option, but to release his reply to the hon. governor in the press. I fully endorse the decision of the hon. chief minister on this issue,” he added.

NCP is a part of the ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government, which comprises the Sena and the Congress.