Amid a string of disagreements and Raj Bhavan's attempts to become more relevant, political observers wonder if there has been a rapprochement
The meeting was Sharad Pawar and Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari's first. File pic
At loggerheads with the Maharashtra government over various issues, Governor Bhagat Sing Koshyari invited the architect of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), Sharad Pawar to the Raj Bhavan on Monday. The details of the meeting remained well-guarded as NCP said it was a non-political event and Raj Bhavan was unwilling to spill the beans.
However, Pawar's maiden visit to Koshyari led to several speculations about a purposeful meeting. A political observer said that one aim could be to tell Pawar to intervene and correct the course of the pandemic and the lockdown exit plan, which Pawar wants to be more liberal as opposed to the chief minister. The other intention could be to convey a conditional rapprochement with the Sena-led government, he said.
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Ex-union minister Praful Patel confirmed that the meetings took place on the invitation of the governor and no particular political issue was discussed.
It may be recalled that Pawar had called out Koshyari for misusing his constitutional position to interfere in the governance and creating an unwarranted parallel power centre by asking state bureaucrats to report to him the progress in the pandemic mitigation.
The NCP boss had raised the complaint with PM Narendra Modi. Unfazed by the criticism and complaint, the governor held another administrative conclave last week to redress the state BJP leaders' grievances against the government. The MVA scoffs at Koshyari ever since he administered the oath to BJP's short-lived government.
Their relations soured further when the governor rejected legislative membership nominations for two NCP leaders and for CM Uddhav Thackeray.
The crisis had put the MVA government in a tight spot. Thackeray survived the scare by building bridges with senior BJP leaders.
However, the CM hasn't been able to stop the Raj Bhavan from being the epicentre of a political clash and one-widow redressal cell for BJP leaders who have accused him of mismanaging the pandemic.
To complicate matters further, Koshyari has asked to make Raj Bhavan independent of the government. He wants the governor's office to have powers to appoint and promote employees. The matter is pending before a reluctant government. Sources said these issues together created a solid ground for negotiations between the MVA builder and the unrelenting governor, who has been chief minister of his state Uttarakhand.
Two days ago, Sena MP Sanjay Raut had also met the governor and told reporters that the chief minister and Koshyari were like a son and father who respected each other.
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Impose President's Rule: Rane
Narayan Rane with Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Monday
Hours after Sharad Pawar's visit, governor Koshyari received former CM and BJP leader Narayan Rane, who demanded the removal of the Uddhav Thackeray government and enforcement of the President's Rule to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic more effectively. "The CM and his government have failed miserably in controlling the pandemic in Mumbai and elsewhere in Maharashtra. This government thinks only of shutting things rather than easing people's lives. In fact, this government does not have any ability to work in such a crisis. I have requested the governor to review the government's performance and recommend the President's Rule," Rane said after the meeting.
Rane suggested that the Indian Army should be put in control of the hospitals. "This government has been blaming the Centre for everything, but it should understand that the Centre has given everything so far. What have you given?" he asked the MVA government, adding that the administration, the police and other frontline COVID-19 workers were not secured by the Thackeray government. Before Rane, former Congressman-turned-BJP sympathiser Kripashankar Singh also met the governor.
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