Ever since the advent of Maha Vikas Aghadi, the discourse of politics in Maharashtra has plummeted at an alarming pace. Vendetta politics have become a hallmark of the Uddhav Thackeray government and criticism of his government can land one in serious peril something which Arnab Goswami and Kangana Ranaut have learned the hard way. Now, the Uddhav Thackeray government hasn’t even spared the office of the Governor, as Maharashtra Governor, Bhagat Singh Koshyari was forced to take a passenger plane for his travel to Uttarakhand after the Maharashtra government denied him permission to board a state government owned plane.
In what can be seen as an absolute mockery of constitutional decorum, the Maharashtra government denied permission to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to travel by a state government plane for his official trip to Dehradun. The Governor then booked a commercial flight to Dehradun.
In fact, Koshyari was sitting in the government aircraft when he was informed by the pilot that the state government has not granted him permission to travel to Dehradun.
The Maharashtra Governor’s Office stated that the Governor’s Secretariat had written to the Maharashtra government seeking permission for use of government aircraft by the Governor on February 2, 2021. Koshyari’s Office added that the Chief Minister’s Office was also informed.
“Accordingly, a state government plane was booked earlier. But, the permission did not come till the last moment,” said a Press Trust of India source. The source added, “Normally, governors do not wait for permission to come. He sat in the aircraft. The pilot then said the permission was not given yet.”
Much has been written about Uddhav Thackeray’s absolute dislike of Bhagat Singh Koshyari and if Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s statement is to be believed it was a decision taken from the higher-ups.
When prodded upon commenting on the incident, Pawar claimed that he had no idea about this incident and can only comment after gathering relevant information. If this is indeed true, the decision may have come from Uddhav Thackeray’s office as the permission to deny travel to a higher authority like the Governor cannot be the handiwork of Babus.
Koshyari and the Maharashtra government have clashed over various issues in the past with the current bone of contention being appointments of 12 persons as Members of the Legislative Council (MLC) through the governor’s quota as Koshyari is yet to give his nod on the appointments.
This incident marks a black chapter for the state of Maharashtra as the Uddhav government practices the worst form of vendetta politics.