Retd SC judge among 6 new governors; Ramesh Bais replaces Koshyari in Maha

Four BJP leaders and former Supreme Court judge S Abdul Nazeer, who was part of the Constitution bench that upheld the archaeological report on Ayodhya, were among six new faces appointed as governors on Sunday (February 12).

Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais was appointed the new Governor of Maharashtra after President Droupadi Murmu approved the resignation of his predecessor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

Retired Supreme Court judge Nazeer was appointed Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Lt Gen KT Parnaik (retd.) Governor of Arunachal Pradesh. Koshyari was replaced by Jharkhand Governor Bais, while Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, Brig. BD Mishra (retd), has replaced RK Mathur as the Lt Governor of Ladakh.

BJP leaders Lakshman Prasad Acharya, CP Radhakrishnan, Shiv Pratap Shukla, and Gulab Chand Kataria, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan, were nominated as governors in Sikkim, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Assam respectively.

According to a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique, President Droupadi Murmu has accepted the resignations of Maharashtra Governor Koshyari and Lt Governor of Ladakh RK Mathur.

Also read: Row over Shivaji: Amruta Fadnavis supports Koshyari, adding to BJP-Shinde govt’s woes

Koshyari expressed desire to step down

The most politically significant of these appointments was Bais replacing Koshyari as Maharashtra Governor. Koshyari had last month told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he wished to step down from the key post.

“Governor Koshyari has expressed his desire to spend the rest of his life in reading, writing and other leisurely activities,” read a statement issued by the Raj Bhavan.

Koshyari, an RSS veteran who has served as Uttarakhand chief minister and an MP in both Houses of Parliament, was appointed Maharashtra Governor in 2019. He stoked many a controversy during his tenure, besides having multiple run-ins with the previous Uddhav Thackeray government.

Also read: Koshiyari’s contentious statement on Shivaji kicks up a storm in Maharashtra

Feud with Uddhav-led MVA regime

Koshyari first courted controversy on November 23, 2019, when, in a shocking early-morning swearing-in ceremony, he hurriedly administered oath of office to Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, respectively, amid BJP-Sena tussle. It was seen as a move to deny the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP to form a government in the state.

Subsequently, the Uddhav-led MVA government and the Raj Bhavan locked horns on several issues, including the reopening of temples after the COVID pandemic, refusal of a state plane for Koshyari’s visit to Dehradun and a special Assembly session following the rape and murder of a woman in Mumbai’s Sakinaka.

Similarly, Uddhav’s Legislative Council nominations lay pending with Koshiyari for nearly six months and the former had to finally call the Prime Minister to resolve the issue.

String of controversies marred his tenure

In March 2022, Koshyari had stirred the hornet’s nest by claiming that 17th-century poet-saint Samarth Ramdas was Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji’s mentor, a theory which has long been the cause of discord as it is suggestive of “supremacy” of Brahmins over non-Brahmins.

Also read: Guv Koshyari leaves without completing his address to joint session

A few days later, Koshyari virtually mocked 19th-century social reformers Savitribai and Jyotirao Phule for “getting married at a young age”. “Savitribai was married off at the age of 10 and her husband was 13 years old at that time. Now, think about it, what must girls and boys be thinking after getting married,” he said.

In July 2022, he sparked another controversy, this time for stating that if Gujaratis and Rajasthanis are taken out of Maharashtra, the state will have no money left. “If Gujaratis and Rajasthanis are removed from Maharashtra, especially Mumbai and Thane, no money would be left here,” he had said.

In November 2022, Koshyari termed Maratha emperor Shivaji “an icon of the olden days”.

“Earlier, when you would be asked who is your icon, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi used to be the answers. In Maharashtra, you need not look elsewhere (as) there are so many icons here. While Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is of olden days, there are BR Ambedkar and Nitin Gadkari in modern times,” he said, inviting strong condemnation from various political parties in the state.

(With agency inputs)