M'rashtra AG, who backed trifurcation of state, resigns

Statements of Aney come as a major embarrassment for CM

Advocate General Shrihari Aney, who advocated the need to trifurcate Maharashtra leading to protests in the legislature and widespread reactions, put in his papers on Tuesday.

The 65-year-old Aney called on Maharashtra Governor CH Vidyasagar Rao and tendered his resignation.

In December ahead of the Winter session in Nagpur, Aney had called for the need for statehood to Vidarbha and while the Budget session was underway he made a statement stressing upon the need for a separate Vidarbha.

The statements of Aney has come as a major political embarrassment for Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who hails from Nagpur and is a strong votary of Vidarbha.

Reasons
“Let me make it clear that neither His Excellency the Governor nor the Honourable Chief Minister asked me for my resignation… There are two reasons for my resignation. The first has to do with conflict of duty. The second concerns institutional stability,” Aney said.

Saying that it was his Constitutional duty to place the interest of the people above the interest of the governmental machinery, he pointed out: “This was most visible in my arguments in matters concerning lack of development of Vidarbha, the insistence on the right of people of Marathwada to drinking water, and the need for stronger governmental measures to tackle the issue of farmers’ suicides and the state’s agrarian crisis. My submissions leading to withdrawal of the state’s resolution regarding sedition, and the right of women to enter places of religious worship are further illustrations of placing the interest of the people uppermost. Such arguments might have caused discomfort to the state, but they did result in orders of the High Court which directly benefitted the neediest and most deprived sections of the public. In that, I find a complete vindication of the office of the Advocate General.”

Aney further added that his stand on Vidarbha is well known and he had spoken on Marathwada a month ago, before Sunday’s statement.

“Once again a section of the honourable legislators have chosen to make this as an issue to stall the present Budget session. As a lawyer I am aware that the failure of the Budget session has the result of fall of the ruling government. It would perhaps have been better if the legislators had deliberated over the problems that occasion the demand for statehood and made some attempt to solve them. Shooting the messenger does not solve the problem.”

In the present disruption of the Legislature, I see a clear pattern. Since I shall not stop from voicing my demand for Vidarbha’s statehood, and the legislators will not stop from using it as a ready excuse to stall the working of the Legislature, one of us has to step back.