Mumbai: Maharashtra Minister of Food and Civil Supplies and Senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Saturday said that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray can again take oath of office and secrecy if there is no decision from the Raj Bhavan on his nomination in the Legislative Council before May 28. Bhujbal however, hoped that the Governor Bhagan Singh Koshyari will take a decision on the state government’s recommendation on Thackeray’s nomination in the Legislative Council as the six months since he took over on November 28 last year ends on May 28.
Bhujbal’s suggestions comes when the Governor has yet to sign on the government recommendation made in the first week of April. Several BJP leaders have questioned the government’s move while the frequent visits of Former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to the Raj Bhavan has fueled debate in the state politics.
However, Bhujbal said the ‘’State Cabinet has taken a unanimous decision recommending Thackeray’s nomination in the Legislative Council on one of the two seats from NCP from the Governor quota lying vacant. It is binding on the Governor to accept the government’s recommendation and clear Thackeray’s nomination. CM also fulfills the artist criteria as he is a well known photographer and was the editor of Saamna.’’
He opined that it would not be proper if the state is pushed into political instability amid the Coronavirus crisis. He further added that the government is stable and its survival is not an issue. Bhujbal reiterated that he is quite hopeful that Governor will clear Thackeray’s nomination.
‘’There is an option if Governor decision does not come before May 28 then Thackeray may be sworn in again thereafter. Last week the Bombay High Court dismissed the petition filed by a BJP activist challenging the government recommendation to nominate Thackeray from the Governor’s quota in the Legislative Council.
Political observers recalled that veteran leader Data Meg he was nominated in the legislative council after he was sworn in as minister after the Congress-NCP government came to power in 1999. Furthermore, Congress stalwarts SushilKumar Shinde and Prithviraj Chavan were not members of the Maharashtra legislature when they became Chief Minister in 2003 and 2010 respectively. Given the precedents they don’t see any problem in Thackeray becoming a member of the legislative council.