Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding his nomination as MLC which is pending with Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
Mr. Thackeray has to be nominated to the Upper House before May 28.
The Prime Minister’s Office confirmed with The Hindu that Mr. Thackeray did call the PM. After hearing out Mr. Thackeray, the PM said he would collect the details.
According to sources, Mr. Thackeray had dialled the PMO on Tuesday evening too from the Sahyadri guest house but Mr. Modi could not come on line.
The call comes a day after the meeting of a delegation of senior Ministers from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) with Mr. Koshyari where they handed him the resolution passed by the Cabinet recommending Mr. Thackeray’s name for one of the two vacant posts in the Council, to be nominated from the Governor’s quota.
Mr. Koshyari reportedly had hinted that the final decision stands with Mr. Modi and the CM should directly talk to him.
Mr. Thackeray was sworn in on November 28 and as per the Constitution, a Minister has to become a member of either House within six months.
Constituents of the MVA, namely the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress, have been questioning the delay on the part of the Governor. “The State is fighting a pandemic. Mumbai is one of the worst-hit cities in the country. The State cannot afford political instability at such a time,” NCP State president and Irrigation Minister Jayant Patil had said on Tuesday.
The Cabinet meeting on April 9, chaired by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, had passed the resolution recommending Mr. Thackeray’s name to the Council. With no movement from Mr. Koshyari, the Cabinet, again chaired by Mr. Pawar, reminded the Governor about the resolution.
