The editorial said that an atmosphere was being created for Mr Deshmukh to step down from his ministerial post and destabilise the MVA government.
An article in Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana said that Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, at the centre of political turmoil in the western state, came to the position by accident and “forgot that sharp leadership springs from honesty”. The write up by Executive Editor, Sanjay Raut, who is also the party’s Rajya Sabha member, not only castigated the Sena-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of the state for its confusion and inaction that led to the opposition gaining an upper hand in the recent controversies, but also targeted Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari for allegedly aiding the Opposition’s effort in toppling the Udhhav Thackeray regime.
Sanjay Raut, under the stinging editorial column titled “Doubting Maharashtra’s Character…The botched ‘Damage Control”, said that an atmosphere was being created for Mr Deshmukh to step down from his ministerial post and destabilise the MVA government.
“The Maharashtra government’s character has been questioned many times due to what happened in the past few months…No one from the government initially came forward to face those charges…Once again, it appeared that the government had no plans for ‘damage control’,” he wrote.
“Deshmukh got the Home Minister’s post by accident. Jayant Patil and Dilip Valse-Patil had refused it. It is only then that Sharad Pawar handed over this post to Deshmukh. This post has dignity and status,” the article said.
“No individual can function as Maharashtra Home Minister remaining close to dubious characters…If a junior officer like Sachin Waze was running a (money) collection racket from the Mumbai police commissioner’s office, why was the Home Minister not aware of it?” it asked.
Accusing Governor Koshiyari of awaiting the government’s fall to avoid confirming 12 members nominated to the House, the article read: “Several leaders of the BJP have been meeting the Governor demanding the government’s dismissal, it is tarnishing the reputation of the Raj Bhavan.”
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