Mumbai: Shiv Sena’s anger over the delay in Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s nod for nominating Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray as a legislator surfaced on Sunday, with MP Sanjay Raut launching a veiled attack against the former BJP leader.
Without naming Koshyari, who has sought legal advice after the state Cabinet recently recommended Thackerays name as a member of the Legislative Council from the governors quota of nominated members, Raut left no doubt as to who was the target of his attack.
“Raj bhavan, governor’s house shouldn’t become center for political conspiracy. Remember! history doesn’t spare those who behave unconstitutionally . @maha_governor,” Raut tweeted.
Thackeray is not a member of either of the two houses of the state legislature.
As per the Constitution, a minister or a chief minister who is not a member of either of the houses has to be elected to either of the houses within six months of being sworn into the post, failing which the person must resign.
Thackeray was sworn in as chief minister on November 28, 2019, and completes six months in office on May 28, 2020.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar had recently held a Cabinet meeting which suggested Thackerays name as an MLC as a governor-nominated member.
In another tweet, Raut also referred to ‘shameless’ governor Ram Lal.
Ram Lal, who served as Governor of Andhra Pradesh from August 15, 1983 to August 29, 1984 courted controversy after he appointed that state’s finance minister N Baskar Rao as Chief Minister, while the incumbent CM N T Rama Rao was away in the US for surgery.
This change was supposedly done at the behest of then Congress Leadership, even when Baskar Rao had no more than 20 per cent of MLAs supporting him. NTR returned to the state after a week and launched a massive campgain against Ram Lal.
A month later, then President Zail Singh dismissed Ram Lal as governor and three days later NTR again became the Andhra CM.