Maharashtra Governor Delays Uddhav Thackeray's Appointment As MLC; CM Dials PM Modi

As per the Constitution, he must get elected to either House of the legislature the Assembly or the Council -within six months to continue in his post.

Thackeray spoke to Modi on phone and told him that attempts were being made to create political instability in the state. (File Photo/ Getty)

Mumbai: The appointment of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray as a Member of the State Legislative Council swings fire again and to this, the CM on Wednesday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene. For the second time in two weeks, the Maharashtra cabinet, here on Monday, urged Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to nominate Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray as a Member of the State Legislative Council to avoid a constitutional crisis at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the sources of PTI, Thackeray spoke to Modi on phone and told him that attempts were being made to create political instability in the state. The sources stated, "Political instability in a huge state like Maharashtra when it is facing the COVID-19 crisis is not right and Thackeray urged the PM to look into it" The telephone call came a day after leaders of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) met Governor BS Koshyari with a fresh cabinet recommendation to nominate Thackeray to the Legislative Council through the governor's quota. The first recommendation of the state cabinet had been made on April nine. Thackeray, who took oath as the Chief Minister on November 28, 2019, is not a member of either House. As per the Constitution, he must get elected to either House of the legislature the Assembly or the Council -within six months to continue in his post. In the past few days, there has been intense speculation that Thackeray may be compelled to resign if he didn't become a member of either House by May 28, possibly resulting in a huge constitutional deadlock. A delegation of MVA leaders led by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar met the governor on Tuesday and handed over the cabinet decision's copy to him. A senior minister who was part of the delegation told PTI that he requested the governor to decide at the earliest. He further added the cabinet decision is valid as per law and accepting the cabinet recommendation was binding for the governor. The minister told the governor stated that he will let them know his decision within a week. Uddhav Thackeray could not get elected to the Council through biennial polls as the elections were deferred due to the coronavirus outbreak. The political experts feel it would be a major setback to the administration if Thackeray is compelled to go out of the picture as the state grapples with the Covid-19 pandemic, with Maharashtra reporting the highest number of casualties and positive cases. (With inputs from PTI)