No ministerial powers to secretaries, says Shinde after MVA attacks

Opposition have mounted a major offensive against the Shinde-Fadnavis government for the delay in expansion of council-of-ministers

Amid severe attacks from the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis dispensation in Maharashtra has clarified that no ministerial powers have been delegated to secretaries except in quasi-judicial matters.

The Sharad Pawar-led NCP, Congress and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena have mounted a major offensive against the Shinde-Fadnavis government for the delay in expansion of council-of-ministers and not convening the monsoon session of the Maharashtra Legislature.

Shinde and Fadnavis were sworn in as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, on June 30, and they had together and separately visited New Delhi more than a dozen times, but the Cabinet expansion is not at sight.

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“A lack of Cabinet is hampering the day-to-day work of the government,” said Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar.

“Maharashtra is heading for a bureaucratic government. With no ministry, officers are being asked to run ministries. Bureaucracy has always been questioned and now the two-member cabinet led by Shinde and Fadnavis will have bureaucrats at the helm. The State is now at their mercy,” said NCP spokesperson Clyde Crasto.

Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe said that in the absence of a full-fledged cabinet, the decision of the Shinde-Fadnavis government to run the affairs of the state through bureaucrats is wrong and the governance of Maharashtra should be handled by people's representatives and not by secretaries.

Londhe said that the reason why the late Chief Minister Shankarao Chavan renamed Sachivalaya to Mantralaya was to ensure that governance should be people-oriented and the people should feel like that it's their government.

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"The government should be headed by the public representatives because they are elected by the people, the decisions should be theirs, not the secretaries who have just passed an exam but the government of Eknath Shinde has done the work of turning the wheels of the system upside down,” he said.

“There is a Deputy Chief Minister in the state who doesn't have a portfolio and the Chief Minister is only doing what his deputy wants. Shinde formed the government after revolting from the Shiv Sena, but has not managed to expand the cabinet as yet. Has the BJP clipped Shinde's wings? Is there a conspiracy to end the political career of many good elected representatives in an attempt to finish the Shiv Sena? Many such questions are being raised. The true face of BJP has come before the people that it has nothing to do with the public, only power is important,” he added.

Reacting to the allegations, Shinde said, “All the powers are vested with the Minister, Chief Minister and council-of-ministers as before. It is completely wrong to say that all the decision-making process has been handed over to the secretaries. As per the August 4 order, certain powers of ministers have been conferred on the secretaries, but these are only for the filing and hearing of quasi-judicial cases. These powers were given to the secretaries temporarily due to a Public Interest Litigation pending in the Bombay High Court.”