Governor asks Maharashtra govt to hold Speaker election in Budget session

The tussle between Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government seems to be escalating further.

Even as the MVA is contemplating legal options over the delay over the clearing of 12 nominations for the vacancies to the Maharashtra Legislative Council from the Governor’s quota, Koshyari has hit back and asked that the post of Speaker of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly be filled during the ensuing Budget session.

The vacancy arose after incumbent Nana Patole resigned to take over as Maharashtra Congress President.

After Thackeray refused permission to Koshyari to take the state government aircraft to Uttarakhand to attend an official function, the decision has rattled Koshyari, who had reportedly also conveyed the episode to Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Now Koshyari has shot off a letter to the Vidhan Sabha secretariat asking for the election of Speaker.

In fact, the Budget session would commence on 1 March with the address by Koshyari to the joint session of the Legislature.

The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly has a tradition of nominating the Speaker by consensus, however, in case polling his held through a secret ballot, there could be chances of cross-voting.

Though the MVA leaders are confident they fear that the Opposition BJP would try to seize the opportunity to bring the numbers down.

The simple majority mark in the House is 145 and the MVA constituents have more than 150 MLAs - Shiv Sena (56), NCP (53) and Congress (44) besides the support of independents and smaller parties. The NCP’s strength was 54, however, one MLA has died.

During the trust vote in December 2019, the MVA secured 169 votes.

The BJP has 105 MLAs and has the support of 10 to 12 others.

The Governor’s message to Vidhan Bhavan secretariat has not gone down well within the government.

On the delay in clearing the names for Council, MVA leaders have termed it as the murder of democracy. "This is a murder of democracy. The cabinet, in the exercise of its rights, sent the names to the Governor. How long will the governor delay it?" Patole said.

It may be mentioned, on November 6, 2020, a ministerial delegation comprising Parliamentary Affairs minister Anil Parab of Shiv Sena, Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik of NCP and medical education and Cultural Affairs Minister Amit Deshmukh called on Koshyari at the Raj Bhavan and submitted the 12 names.

The Governor nominates 12 MLCs for a tenure of six years – based on the recommendations of the state Cabinet.

According to Article171(5) of the Constitution: “(5) The members to be nominated by the Governor under sub-clause (e) of clause (3) shall consist of persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as the following, namely: literature, science, art, co-operative movement and social service.” However, no time frame is mentioned.