Monsoon session of State Legislature to begin today
FORMER Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar were among the eight who were sworn in as Ministers in the Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra Council on Sunday. Apart from the eight ministers, five were inducted as Ministers of State as part of a Cabinet expansion which took place a day before the beginning of the State Legislature’s Monsoon Session and four months ahead of the Assembly polls.
This was the third expansion of the State Cabinet and no new woman leader was inducted. There are two women ministers -- Pankaja Munde and Vidya Thakur -- in the BJP-Sena coalition Government in Maharashtra. Vikhe Patil, the former Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, and ex-NCP leader Jaydutt Kshirsagar, who joined the Shiv Sena recently, were sworn in as Cabinet Ministers on Sunday. Mumbai BJP chief Shelar was also inducted into the Cabinet. Shelar, the former chairman of Mumbai Cricket Association, was earlier seen as a strong contender for the Cabinet post, specially after the BJP’s tally in the local civic body rose from 33 to 83 under his leadership during the 2017 Municipal polls. For the first time, a leader from the Republic Party of India (Athawale), Avinash Mahatekar, was inducted into the Fadnavis Government as a Minister of State.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Housing Minister Prakash Mehta and five other Ministers quit their posts, an official in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said. Besides Mehta, the others who resigned as Ministers are Rajkumar Badole, Vishnu Sawra, Dilip Kamble, Praveen Pote and Ambarish Atram. The Chief Minister has accepted their resignations, the official added. Vikhe Patil, Kshirsagar and Mahatekar, who currently are not members of any House of the State Legislature, can hold ministerial charge for six months. According to the rules they have to get elected in the State Legislature within these six months. But since the State polls are due in September-October, these Ministers can stay on their posts till end of this Assembly’s tenure.
Suresh Khade, Sanjay Kute, Anil Bonde and Ashok Uike of the BJP and Tanaji Sawant of the Shiv Sena also took oath as Cabinet Ministers. Among them, Sawant is the only Cabinet member who is a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) while the others are MLAs. Besides, BJP’s Yogesh Sagar, Sanjay alias Bala Bhegade, Parinay Fuke and Atul Saave were inducted as MoS. While Fuke is an MLC, the others are members of the Lower House. The Devendra Fadnavis Government took charge in November 2014, but the Sena did not join the Government at that time. The Uddhav Thackeray-led party joined the Government in December that year during the first Cabinet expansion. The second expansion of the Cabinet was held in July, 2016. A vacancy was created in 2018 when then State Agriculture Minister Pandurang Fundkar died.
The portfolio was subsequently being handled by Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil. Earlier this year, then Health Minister Deepak Sawant also resigned and the department was being looked after by Eknath Shinde, who is also the PWD Minister. Parliamentary Affairs and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Girish Bapat resigned after being elected to the Lok Sabha from Pune. His portfolios were till now being shared by Education Minister Vinod Tawde and Tourism Minister Jaykumar Rawal. 13 new bills to be tabled, Budget too will be presented during Monsoon session: Fadnavis: AS many as 13 new bills and the annual Budget will be presented in the Assembly during the Monsoon session, beginning on Monday, said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis here on Sunday. “Thirteen new Bills will be tabled by the Government in the during the Monsoon session.
The Budget will also be presented. We are also ready to discuss any issues the Opposition wants,” he said while addressing the media persons. The Monsoon session of Assembly will come to an end on July 2. Fadnavis said his Government is committed to providing farmers all the benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PMKSN) scheme. “1.2 crore farmers will get the benefits of the PMKSN. The Government is uploading the data of farmers in a speedy manner to ensure they get the benefit as quickly as possible,” he said. Talking about the ongoing drought relief works in the State and relief provided to farmers, he said: “Rs 4,700 crore has been given as drought assistance while Rs 3,300 crore has been disbursed as crop insurance by the Government till date.” Maharastra currently is facing severe drought conditions with just 7 per cent of water left for consumption which has affected the lives of the people.
The Opposition leaders have said that they would corner the Government on the issues drought relief works in the State. Cabinet expansion for regional balance, new faces: Fadnavis: MAHARASHTRA Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the Cabinet expansion carried out on Sunday was for regional balance and to create an opportunity for other party workers to serve, and no one was dropped for “poor performance”. Thirteen ministers were inducted into the State Government on Sunday, and six serving ministers tendered their resignations to the CM, all of which were accepted. Speaking on the eve of the monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature, Fadnavis said, “We wanted to present new faces as well as create a regional balance. No one in the Cabinet was removed because of poor performance. The new team will perform better.” Commenting on a Lokayukta report related to outgoing Housing Minister Prakash Mehta’s alleged land deal, Fadnavis said, “The report is going to be presented in the House. I cannot comment on it now.”
New Cabinet Ministers
Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil -- Housing
Jaydutt Kshirsagar -- Employment Guarantee and Horticulture
Ashish Shelar -- School Education, Sports and Youth Welfare
Dr Sanjay Kute -- Labour, Vimukta Jati, Nomadic Tribes, Other
Backward and Special Backward Class Welfare
Suresh Khade - Social Justice
Dr Anil Bonde -- Agriculture
Prof Dr Ashok Uikey -- Tribal Development
Tanaji Sawant -- Water Conservation
New Ministers of State
Yogesh Sagar -- Urban Development
Avinash Mahatekar -- Social Justice and Special Assistance
Sanjay (Bala) Bhegade -- Labour, Environment, Relief and
Rehabilitation, Earthquake Rehabilitation
Dr Parinay Fuke -- Public Works (excluding Public Undertakings),
