NCP, Uddhav Sena camp welcome Bhagat Singh Koshyari's exit as Maharashtra governor

Nationalist Congress Party's Maharashtra chief Jayant Patil on Sunday welcomed the resignation of Bhagat Singh Koshyari from the state governor's post and said they hope the new occupant of the Raj Bhavan here would not be a "puppet of the BJP".

President Droupadi Murmu has accepted the resignation of Koshyari, a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said on Sunday. Koshyari was replaced by Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais.

Reacting to the development, NCP leader Jayant Patil in a tweet said, “I hope the new governor would not be a puppet of the BJP like the previous one (Koshyari). We welcome the decision of the Union government to change the Maharashtra governor as it was the demand of the Maha Vikas Aghadi.”

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“The previous governor had lowered the stature of his post by making controversial remarks against social icons from the state as well as conducting swearing in ceremony of the current unconstitutional state government. We welcome the news of appointment of a new governor of Maharashtra,” he added.

The new Eknath Shinde-BJP coalition came to power in June last year after a split in the Shiv Sena and the subsequent collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (comprising the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) government.

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MLA and former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray also welcomed Koshyari's resignation. “Big win for Maharashtra! The resignation of anti Maharashtra Governor has finally been accepted,” he tweeted.

“He, who constantly insulted Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotiba Pule and Savitri bai Phule, our Constitution, Assembly & democratic ideals, cannot be accepted as a Governor,” the MLA said in the tweet.

Some of Koshyari's statements had triggered controversy, leading to an announcement by the state Raj Bhavan last month that he wants to quit the post. Addressing a gathering in November last year, Koshyari said Chhatrapati Shivaji was an ‘icon of olden times’ and personalities like Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar to Nitin Gadkari were the modern icons of the state.

Uddhav Thackeray, when he was Maharashtra chief minister, accused Koshyari of being overactive, and pointed out that the governor had not filled 12 vacant seats in the state Legislative Council despite the state government’s recommendation.

In November 2019, Koshyari administered oath of office to BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis and NCP's Ajit Pawar as chief minister and deputy CM in a shock early morning swearing-in ceremony, amid the BJP-Shiv Sena tussle over the CM’s post.