Days after the Maharashtra government and Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari locked horns over the election of Assembly Speaker, the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government took a step back on the last day of the winter session of the legislature by postponing the Speaker’s election to the budget session, likely to be held in February-March 2022.
“The MVA government’s decision to hold the Speaker’s election was as per the law. If the House has changed rules for the same, then it is well within its rights to change rules. The Governor should respect the constitutional post that he is holding and avoid playing politics,” said Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole.
Mr. Patole said the State government did not disrespect the Governor but instead followed every legal process. “The process could have been completed within a day, but the Governor yet again sent a letter on Tuesday morning and therefore the State government decided to avoid conflict and postpone the Speaker’s election,” he added.
Mr. Koshyari had reportedly objected to the change made by the legislature’s rules committee to complete the Speaker’s election through open vote instead of secret ballot, terming it unconstitutional. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) too had opposed the move.
A section within the State government was of the opinion to go ahead with the election process and not to pay heed to the Governor’s pressure tactics. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray too had reportedly written to Mr. Koshyari advising him to not indulge in politics.
The Speaker’s post has been vacant since February 2021 after Mr. Patole resigned to become the State Congress president.
