Shinde made the remarks in the Upper House on Wednesday, effectively putting on hold the suspension of Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Tushar Doshi and other officials over the ruckus during the Satara Zilla Parishad (ZP) president election last week
Maharashtra Legislative Council Chairman Ram Shinde. FILE PIC
Maharashtra Legislative Council Chairman Ram Shinde said that his deputy Neelam Gorhe’s order on suspending the Satara Superintendent of Police (SP) will be referred to legal experts, after which a ruling will be issued, reported the PTI.
Ram Shinde made the remarks in the Upper House on Wednesday, effectively putting on hold the suspension of Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Tushar Doshi and other officials over an alleged ruckus during the Satara Zilla Parishad (ZP) elections last week.
The action was followed after political leaders raised the issue in the Council.
Following which the Council Deputy Chairperson Gorhe had on Monday directed the state government to suspend Satara Superintendent of Police Doshi, a move that did not go down well with the BJP, which heads the ruling coalition.
Final decision to be announced after expert opinion
“The decision on the suspension of the Satara SP and other officials will be referred to legal and constitutional experts, and a ruling will be given later,” Shinde said in the Council on Wednesday.
He maintained that the government must probe the incident and take action in accordance with the law after considering the deputy chairperson’s decision.
The chairman concurred with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ argument on the issue.
On Tuesday, Fadnavis said that the powers of the executive, judiciary, and legislature are clearly defined in the Constitution. Executive powers rest with the executive, which is accountable to the legislature, he said, adding that the government makes efforts to implement directions issued by the chair.
CM says legislature cannot assume executive powers
“However, after apologising to the chair, I must say that the Speaker (of the Assembly) and the Chairman (of the Council) cannot step into the shoes of the executive,” the Chief Minister asserted, reported PTI.
“When the chair issues a direction, it is based on the circumstances at the time. The executive acts if there is substance to it. If the facts differ, the executive has the right to inform the legislature that the direction cannot be implemented,” said Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio.
Ministers Shambhuraj Desai (Shiv Sena) and Makarand Patil (Nationalist Congress Party) had alleged that local police personnel manhandled them during the March 20 poll to elect the Satara ZP president.
Bharatiya Janata Party’s Priya Shinde was elected Satara ZP president, defeating the Shiv Sena-NCP combine’s candidate despite the latter having a majority in the rural local body. The BJP narrowly surpassed the Sena-NCP alliance’s tally to secure the top post.
(With PTI inputs)
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