Two Uddhav Thackeray appointees in office-of-profit soup

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackerays appointment of Sena MLA Ravindra Waikar as chief coordinator in the CMO and that of party MP Arvind Sawant as head of State Parliamentary Coordination Committee may land him in trouble The move aimed at troubleshooting for the party at the state and Centre is likely to trigger an officeofprofit row It is a situation where an elected member may face a conflict of interest in his discharge of duties towards the State and also bring such a person some benefitsfinancial gainsA senior Mantralaya official claimed that Thackeray and chief secretary Ajoy Mehta held a discussion to understand whether the appointment fell under the ambit of office of profitRavindra WaikarThe CM has asked Mehta to study the issue and apprise him with the findings and solutions the official said A chief minister usually appoints people from hisher own party MPs or MLAs to help with parliamentary workHowever according to rules an office of profit means a position in government that brings financial gains remuneration or a position which yields salaries perquisites and other benefits in the government It refers to a post under the centralstate governmentArvind SawantThis post cannot be held by a Member of Legislative Assembly MLA or Member of Parliament MPWaikar however said that the rumours of his resignation over this issue were incorrect I have not resigned There is no office of profit case But if merely by taking perks the case falls in the office of profit term I will not take perks offered by the government as mentioned in the Government Resolution GR I will not give up the post and continue to work as coordinator according to the order issued by the government Waikar told middayHowever aware that this could spark a fresh row especially with the opposition Thackeray along with other party workers has begun work on finding alternativesThe CM has initiated consultations with senior party leaders and bureaucracy over the issue During his recent visit to the coastal Konkan region for a religious fair he had a meeting with party leaders to discuss this issueA senior Sena functionary on condition of anonymity claimed that many within the party too are of the opinion that the appointment of Waikar and Sawant might invite troubles for the MVA government especially the CMChief Secretary Ajoy Mehta and Sawant remained unavailable for comment despite repeated attemptsSena leader Waikar was minister of state in erstwhile BJPSena government However he was not inducted in the Thackeray led triparty government In order to pacify him Thackeray created a post of CMO coordinator where Waikars role would be to meet Sena ministers leaders and party workers to assist the CM The move is said to have become an issue with Senas ally partners Congress and NCP Similarly Sawant was appointed to coordinate between the state and union government to expedite Maharashtras pending issues at the CentreAround 14 years ago 2006 Congress leader Sonia Gandhi had to resign from Lok Sabha over the office of profit controversy In 2018 the Election Commission had recommended disqualification of 20 Aam Admi Party AAP MLAs in this regard too2006Year Congress leader Sonia Gandhi had to resign from Lok Sabha over the office ofprofit controversy2018Year EC recommended disqualification of 20 AAP MLAs over the office of profit situationCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates