Maharashtra Governor mulling over resignation?

Bhagat Singh Koshyari wants to discontinue the post at a time when he has landed in trouble over his remarks on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, says a Raj Bhavan source

Amid growing discontent among Maharashtrians over Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s remark on legendary Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, enough heat has been generated so much so that Mr. Koshyari himself is not reportedly willing to continue. He has shared this with a few close aides and acquaintances.

“Yes, considering his age and health issues, he wants to be relieved from the post and has been sharing the same with his close aides and some officers for the past few months. This has nothing to do with the ongoing controversy over his remarks on Shivaji Maharaj or bandh call given by Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray,” a source at Raj Bhavan said.

The tenure of Mr. Koshyari (80) has been quite controversial as soon after he was appointed in September 2019, he started stoking executive decisions during the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government that led to a saga of rough relationship between the Chief Minister’s Office and Raj Bhavan.

His role during the recent change of guards at Mantrayala has also come under scanner after repeated attacks by Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Nationalist Congress Party and Congress.

However, the Raj Bhavan has officially denied the reports of the Governor considering resigning and termed them “baseless”.

Earlier this month, Mr. Koshyari made a remark by calling Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj an ‘icon of olden times’, and said there were icons such as Mr. Ambedkar and Mr. Nitin Gadkari in modern times.

NCP leader Ajit Pawar recently claimed that on several occasions Mr. Koshyari has personally expressed his desire to be relieved from the post. “He (Mr. Koshyari) told me he wanted to be relieved,” Mr. Pawar claimed, adding that the Governor was deliberately making controversial statements so that the Central government would shift him out of the State.