Maharashtra:Governor accuses CM of using 'threatening tenor'

All is not well in Maharashtra. The latest episode over the Assembly Speaker's elections has added tension between the Maharashtra government and Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. The face-off between the two escalated as the latter accused CM Uddhav Thackeray of using "threatening tenor" in his letter. Thackeray had written to Koshyari on December 27 seeking his approval to conduct the election of the Assembly Speaker, a post which has been vacant since February 4 when Nana Patole resigned to become the Maharashtra Congress president. In response, Koshyari contended that the holding of this election appears prima facie unconstitutional as the rules had been amended to allow open vote instead of secret ballot.

Koshyari mentioned that he was personally pained and dismayed to see the intemperate tone of the chief minister's letter. He said the letter belittled and denigrated the office of governor. On Sunday, three senior ministers of the MVA met Governor Koshyari at Raj Bhawan to accord consent to the election procedure. In his first reply, the Governor sought more time for legal opinion. Koshyari said, "It is also noteworthy to mention that you have taken nearly 11 months to initiate the process of election of speaker, and the Maharashtra Assembly Rules 6 and 7 have been amended drastically. Thus the impact of these far-reaching amendments needs to be examined legally.”