Maharashtra: Guardian ministers of 3 Marathwada districts ‘boycott’ governor’s review tour

MUMBAI: After the state cabinet’s strong objection to governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s three-day review tour of three districts in Marathwada, the guardian ministers of Nanded (Ashok Chavan) Hingoli (Varsha Gaikwad) and Parbhani (Nawab Malik) said they will not attend the programmes.
Koshyari was in Nanded on Thursday. He will be in Hingoli on Friday and in Parbhani on Saturday.
Malik and Chavan confirmed to TOI that they will not be attending Koshyari’s programmes.“I am supervising key repair and reconstruction work of roads and bridges, which have been washed away. It was not possible for me to attend Koshyari’s events in Nanded,” Chavan said. Nanded is Chavan’s hometown.
Malik said it is not mandatory for the guardian minister or chief minister to remain present during the governor’s visit to a district. “Though the guardian ministers will not be attending, routine protocol will be followed. All officers whose presence is mandatory during the governor’s visit will remain present,” he said.
According to the travel schedule released by the Raj Bhavan on Monday, Koshyari was to visit Nanded for the inauguration of a hostel for minority girls and boys and review the Covid-19 preparations there. In Hingoli and Parbhani, Koshyari was expected to visit the agriculture universities and review the Covid situation with the district officials. However, following the objection lodged by the state cabinet on Tuesday, the travel plan was altered to state that the hostel has already been operational for three to four years, so the governor will only visit it. Further, it stated that he will not take review meetings with the district administration, instead a section of senior bureaucrats will make presentations before him on the prevailing Covid situation.
At Tuesday’s weekly cabinet meeting, most of the members expressed strong displeasure over Koshyari’s decision to undertake an extensive tour of the three districts in Marathwada. “The governor is exceeding his brief. We are in a democratic set-up, the governor can’t take over the functions of the chief minister. If he needs information, he can always summon the chief secretary. It’s a new trend of governors assuming the role of the CM, particularly in non-BJP ruled states,” Malik said.
On Wednesday, a Raj Bhavan official had told TOI that there is no question of the governor taking over the functions of the CM. “The governor is not holding a review meeting; a few bureaucrats have expressed their desire to make a presentation before him,” the official said.