Maharashtra CMO absolves govt over Governor's state plane row, blames Raj Bhavan officials

Amid uproar from the opposition, the Maharashtra Chief Minister's Office on Tuesday issued a clarification on Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari not being allowed to travel by state aircraft to Uttarakhand. In a statement, it affirmed that the state government was not at fault in this case. While acknowledging that the Raj Bhavan had requested the Maharashtra government in advance for the use of its aircraft, it revealed that permission for the same had been denied on Wednesday itself. 

According to the statement, the Raj Bhavan Secretariat should have arranged his travel programme only after ascertaining the information pertaining to the grant of permission. It lamented that a dignitary like the Governor was inconvenienced in the process. Moreover, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray directed that responsibility must be fixed on Raj Bhavan officials responsible for not adhering to the necessary modalities.

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Governor not allowed to use state plane

The Maharashtra Governor is scheduled to preside over the valedictory function of the122nd Induction Training Programme of IAS officers at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration at Mussoorie, Uttarakhand at 10 am on Friday. On February 2 itself, the Governor's Secretariat had written to the state government authorities seeking permission for the use of the state aircraft. At 10 am earlier in the day, Koshyari reached the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport at 10 am ahead of his scheduled departure to Dehradun. However, he was informed about the denial of permission to use the state aircraft only after he boarded the plane. Thereafter, the Governor left for Dehradun on a commercial aircraft leaving Mumbai at 12.15 pm. 

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Maharashtra government at loggerheads with Koshyari

The relationship between the MVA and Koshyari hit a rough patch from November 23, 2019, when Devendra Fadnavis was sworn-in as the CM despite doubts over BJP having a majority in the state Assembly. Another tussle ensued in the months to come as the Governor refused to act on the state Cabinet's decision of nominating CM Uddhav Thackeray to the Legislative Council. It was only after Thackeray's conversation with PM Modi that Koshyari wrote to the Election Commission of India requesting the election for the vacant 9 MLC seats to be held soon. Finally, the Shiv Sena supremo were elected unopposed to the Legislative Council on May 14, 2020, thus averting a constitutional crisis.

Another major controversy arose during the COVID-19 period when the Governor questioned Thackeray's adherence to Hindutva while seeking all places of worship to be thrown open to the public. In response, Thackeray made it clear that his Hindutva did not need a certificate from Koshyari and maintained his stance on keeping the religious places closed. Shiv Sena also cried foul when the Governer met actor Kangana Ranaut at the Raj Bhavan amid her public tiff with the party. Currently, the state government and Koshyari are at loggerheads as the latter has still not given assent for the nomination of 12 members including Eknath Khadse and Urmila Matondkar to the Legislative Council. 

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