Maharashtra Governor B S Koshyari denied permission to fly in govt-owned plane to Uttarakhand

The Governor is now expected to fly in a private aircraft or a commercial jet

The bitter tussle between the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi dispensation and Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari came out in the open yet again on Thursday when the latter was denied permission to fly in a state government plane to Dehradun.

Koshyari was deboarded from the Cessna Citation XLS eight-seater jet, rattling the Opposition BJP. He was scheduled to preside over and address the 122nd induction training programme of IAS officers at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie on Friday.

The Governor had left Raj Bhavan in the morning with his Aide-de-Camp (ADC) and Officer on Special Duty (OSD) for the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport and boarded the plane.

“However, the Governor was informed that the permission for the use of government aircraft had not been received,” a Raj Bhavan spokesperson said.

Thereafter, tickets were booked for the Governor, his ADC and OSD in a commercial airline.

“In preparation of the visit, the Governor’s Secretariat had written to Government of Maharashtra authorities seeking permission for the use of government aircraft by the Governor well in advance on 2 February,” a Raj Bhavan spokesperson said.

Accordingly, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) was informed, the Raj Bhavan said.

The Thackeray-headed CMO later put the ball in Raj Bhavan’s court saying that on Wednesday, it has informed the Governor’s office about not being able to provide the aircraft.

"After being informed by the CMO a day in advance, the Raj Bhavan secretariat was expected to confirm the clearances before making arrangements for the Governor to go to the airport. Since this was not done, the Governor was unable to travel to his intended destination in the government aircraft. Responsibility should be fixed on the concerned Raj Bhavan staffers for the lapses which resulted in an embarrassment to the Governor," it stated.

The CMO, however, is silent on why the permission was denied to Koshyari to fly the state plane.

Thackeray’s close aide and Shiv Sena Chief Spokesperson Sanjay Raut said that the government had merely followed the rules.

“I had a word with the chief minister...I can say that the rules were followed,” Raut said. He, however, did not go into the specifics.

“The government plane is for official work...even when the Chief Minister uses it, it is for government work," said Raut while not commenting on whether the Governor’s visit was official or personal.

The BJP’s Leader of the Opposition Devendra Fadnavis said, “What has happened is unfortunate....The Governor is not a person, he is an institution....I have never seen such an egoistic government.”

Fadnavis pointed out that after the request from the Raj Bhavan was raised, the file was sent by the General Administration Department (GAD) to the CMO.