Patil slams Governor over Speaker election

Mumbai: Maharashtra NCP president and former state minister Jayant Patil on Saturday took a a swipe at state Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari for refusing to give permission to the previous Shiv Sena-led MVA government to elect the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, under the chairmanship of the Deputy Speaker of the house for several months.
While interacting with media persons here after Shiv Sena MLA Rajan Salvi filed his nomination for the post of Assembly Speaker on behalf of MVA alliance, he said that the Governor had been asked on numerous occasions to elect the Speaker, under the chairmanship of the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, but the Governor did not give them permission for several months.
“When we (MVA) were in power, we were telling the state Governor to hold an election for the Assembly Speaker’s post, but he did not let us hold the election,” he noted.
He said that soon after the new government came to power in Maharashtra, the Governor allowed conducting the Assembly Speaker’s election, he further said and pointed that hence people in the state can see what kind of politics is going on behind the scenes.
Patil said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi has moved the Supreme Court seeking suspension of 16 Sena rebel MLAs till the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly decides on the disqualification petitions filed against them.
Until the apex court comes out with its order on the same, the election to the Speaker’s post should be kept on hold, he added. (UNI)

#NCP, #Jayany Patil, #Guv. Koshyari