Governor Rao accepts Aney’s resignation

Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao has accepted the resignation of Shreehari Aney from the post of advocate general

Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao has accepted the resignation of Shreehari Aney from the post of advocate general. The decision was taken following the recommendation of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis as the head of the council of ministers.

Aney had resigned from the post following a controversy over his remarks that Maharashtra should be trifurcated. The statement proved to be a major embarrassment for the Fadnavis government. Apart from an aggressive stand by the opposition parties on the matter, ruling ally Shiv Sena, too, had decided not to attend cabinet meetings until Aney was sacked from the post.

Fadnavis also had to express unhappiness over the controversial statement that led Aney to submit his resignation to the governor on March 22.

According to sources, a day after Aney submitted his resignation, Fadnavis sent a letter to the governor on March 23 recommending it be accepted.

“The recommendation was made by the CM as the head of the ministerial council of Maharashtra. In response to the recommendation, the governor had accepted Aney’s resignation and a communication in this regard was sent to the chief minister office,” said a senior official, on condition of anonymity.

Aney, a staunch advocate for Vidarbha statehood, in Jalna on Saturday last week had advocated for Marathwada statehood. He even called on people of Marathwada to brace for a fight for a separate state given the step-motherly treatment meted out to the region.

Aney served as advocate general for just four months — he was appointed to the post on November 15, 2015, after Sunil Manohar resigned from the post in June that year, serving for just seven months.

The state government is yet to decide on the name of new advocate general. Associate advocate general Rohit Deo has been given additional charge of the post.