Parliamentary Affairs Minister cites Governor’s inaction on cleared nominees Taking a cue from the Supreme Court decision to quash the suspension of 12 BJP lawmakers by the Maharashtra legislature, a State Minister has raised the issue of Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari keeping 12 seats of the State Council vacant for over 18 months now.
Shiv Sena leader and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anil Parab said, "This is for the first time that a court has interfered in the proceedings of the legislature. We will go through the detailed order but since it has been mentioned that constitutional positions shouldn't be kept vacant for more than six months, similar rule should be applied for vacant 12 MLC posts where the Governor, despite State cabinet clearing the names, is not giving a go ahead."
Sena MLA Bhaskar Jadhav, who was the pro tem Assembly Speaker when the incident took place and BJP MLAs allegedly hurled abuses, said the court has given the verdict but ultimately it is the Assembly Speaker who will decide on whether to allow the re-entry of MLAs.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and State Minister Nawab Malik said the decision to suspend MLAs was not taken by the State government but by legislature. "Let the full order copy be received by legislative Secretariat. Future course of action will be decided after reading it," he said.
