Governor disallowed to use Maha govt plane for Dehradun visit

In fact, it isthe governor who appoints the chief minister and his cabinet,Fadnavis pointed out.The government should understand that it is insultinga constitutional post, the former CM said.Defending the government, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Rautsaid it had followed all norms in disallowingKoshyarito usethe state plane for his visit to Dehradun.Rejecting the BJPs charge that the government hasinsulted the governor, Raut told reporters in Delhi that therewas no politics involved in the incident.We respect the governor.

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat SinghKoshyariwas denied permission to use a state governmentaircraft to travel to Dehradun on Thursday, triggering a rowand inviting a strong criticism from the opposition BJP whichsought an apology over the incident.

Koshyariwas scheduled to travel by a state governmentaircraft to Dehradun and on getting on-board, the governor wasinformed that permission for use of the plane had not beenreceived, a statement from the Raj Bhavan said.

The governor later took a commercial flight from theChhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) totravel to the capital of his home state of Uttarakhand, itsaid.

The Raj Bhavan secretariat and the state governmentsought to blame each other for the incident, which added a newchapter in the uneasy ties between the ruling coalition,comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP, Congress, and the governor.

The Raj Bhavan statement said the governor'ssecretariat had written to the government authorities seekingpermission for the use of the aircraft ''well in advance'' onFebruary 2.

The office of the chief minister was also informedabout it, the statement said.

However, the Maharashtra government said the RajBhavan secretariat had been informed a day earlier by theChief Minister's Office (CMO) that approval for use of theofficial aircraft has not been given.

A statement from the CMO said the state government hadtaken serious cognisance that the official concerned at RajBhavan did not apprise the governor about the communicationfrom the government (denying nod to use the aircraft).

''The Raj Bhavan official did not confirm about theapproval for use of official plane and plan the Governor'stravel schedule.

''The Chief Minister has issued directives thatresponsibility be fixed on the Raj Bhavan official concernedafter taking serious cognisance of the developments,'' the CMOstatement said.

It said the Raj Bhavan secretariat should haveconfirmed about availability of the official plane since non-approval for same was communicated a day earlier.

''Due to this the governor had to face inconvenience.

The state government is not to be blamed ,'' the CMO said.

It admitted that the Raj Bhavan secretariat had soughtpermission for use of the official plane.

''On February 10, the CMO communicated that nopermission was given for use of the plane. The Raj Bhavansecretariat was expected to check on the permission and thenbring the governor to the airport,'' the CMO statement said.

Sources in the Raj Bhavan, however, said, It did notreceive any communication in this regard from the stategovernment at any level.

According to the Raj Bhavan statement,Koshyariisscheduled to preside over valedictory function of the 122ndInduction Training Programme of IAS officers at the LalBahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration atMussoorie in Uttarakhand on Friday.

He was scheduled to depart from the Mumbai airportfor Dehradun at 10 am on Thursday, the statement said.

Koshyariwill travel to Mussoorie from Dehradun.

''Today, on 11th February 2021, the Honble Governorreached the CSMI Airport at 1000 hrs and boarded thegovernment plane.

''However, the Honble Governor was informed that thepermission for the use of Government Aircraft had not beenreceived,'' the statement said.

As directed by the governor, tickets for Dehradun werebooked immediately for him on a commercial aircraft leavingMumbai at 12.15 pm and accordingly, he left, it said.

Meanwhile, a video clip surfaced on Thursday eveningin which Koshyari is heard saying in Dehradun, Did not get(to use the government) plane for some reasons. So, came byanother flight.

To a question whether permission was denied to use theplane as his trip is private, Koshyari said, How come thefelicitation of IAS officials could be a private visit? While the Shiv Sena said the government had followedall laid-down norms in disallowing the governor to use thestate-owned plane, the opposition BJP demanded an apology fromthe ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) over the incident.

The BJP accused the MVA government of being ''egoistic''and indulging in ''childish acts''.

When asked about the incident, deputy chief ministerAjit Pawar said he had no clue.

''I will take details on reaching the Mantralaya (statesecretariat) and only then will be able to say anything,'' thedeputy chief minister said.

Meanwhile, former Maharashtra minister and senior BJPleader Sudhir Mungantiwar said the MVA government shouldapologise for ''insulting'' the governor.

If the state government has purposefully deniedpermission, it is a ''blot'' on the state's reputation, he said.

''If this embarrassment is not intentional, then thestate government should suspend the official who failed toissue the flying permission in time to the governor,'' he said.

The government should apologise and avoid furtherescalation of the issue, Mungantiwar said.

BJP leader and former Maharashtra chief ministerDevendra Fadnavis accused the state government of being''egoistic'' and indulging in ''childish acts''.

Fadnavis alleged the state government has insulted aconstitutional post.

''It is an unfortunate incident. Such an incident hadnever happened in the state earlier. Governor is not a person,it is a designation. People come and go, but the designationstays,'' the former chief minister said.

The governor is the head of the state. In fact, it isthe governor who appoints the chief minister and his cabinet,Fadnavis pointed out.

''The government should understand that it is insultinga constitutional post,'' the former CM said.

Defending the government, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Rautsaid it had followed all norms in disallowingKoshyarito usethe state plane for his visit to Dehradun.

Rejecting the BJP's charge that the government hasinsulted the governor, Raut told reporters in Delhi that therewas no politics involved in the incident.

''We respect the governor. The government has upheldthe Constitution... This is what I gather from my conversationwith Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray,'' Raut said.

''If the governor wants to use the government plane forprivate work, then there are some rules and had the governmentviolated those rules, it would have been in the dock,'' theSena MP said.

Notably, state Congress chief Nana Patole on Wednesdaysaid the MVA government has decided to move court over the'delay' by the governor in appointment of nominated members tothe Legislative Council.

In the first week of November last year, the stategovernment recommended 12 names for appointment to the Councilunder the governor's quota to Koshyari.

In October last year, during the coronavirus lockdown,Koshyariwrote a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray,asking if the latter had turned ''secular'' since he deniedpermission at that time to reopen temples in the state.

The CM later said he does not need a ''Hindutvacertificate'' from anyone.

During the pandemic last year,Koshyarialso insistedon holding the final year exams of degree students in thestate, but Thackeray at that time rejected the demand.