Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Monday announced his desire to step down from the constitutional post.
Koshyari said he has conveyed his desire to step down from the political responsibilities to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter’s recent visit to Mumbai.
"During the recent visit of the Hon'ble Prime Minister to Mumbai, I have conveyed to him my desire to be discharged of all political responsibilities and to spend the remainder of my life in reading, writing and other activities. I have always received the love and affection from the Hon’ble Prime Minister and I hope to receive the same in this regard,” Koshyari said in a statement released to the media.
“It was an absolute honour and privilege for me to serve as the Rajya Sevak or Rajyapal of a great State like Maharashtra – the land of Saints, Social reformers and valiant fighters,” Koshyari further said. “I can never forget the love and affection I have received from the people of Maharashtra during the last little more than 3 years."
Koshyari and controversies
Earlier this month, while addressing a delegation of Jain spiritual leaders, Koshyari had that the post of governor had only brought him unhappiness.
Koshyari had courted several controversies as governor when the Maha Vikas Aghadi government of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress led by Uddhav Thackeray was in power.
Speaking at a function at Dr BR Ambedkar Marathwada University in Aurangabad, he said, “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was an icon of olden times, whereas Dr Ambedkar and Union minister Nitin Gadkari are icons of modern times.”
This had triggered a row as several opposition leaders and even some of BJP, including Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati of the erstwhile royal family, demanding Koshyari’s ouster.
The governor’s remarks on the child marriage of 19th century social reformers Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule landed him in another row. When Savitribai and Jyotirao got married in 1840, child marriage was a common practice in India, claimed leaders. Savitribai is credited to have started the first school for girls in India at Pune’s Bhide Wada in 1848 despite opposition from conservative sections of society.
He found himself facing embarrassment when in 2021 he reached the Mumbai airport with his entourage only to be told that the Chief Minister’s (Uddhav Thackeray) approval for using the state aircraft had not come. He had to board a commercial airline’s flight to Dehradun.
In July 2022, he courted another controversy when he said that Mumbai would would not remain the financial capital of the country if Gujaratis and Marwaris were removed from the city, apparently alluding to the contribution of the communities to the city. Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray responded saying it is time to show the governor the famous Kolhapuri chappal, The Hindu reported.
While inaugurating new buildings of the Mumbai University, the Maharashtra Governor had urged the varsity vice-chancellor to name the new international students' hostel after RSS icon Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, whom the Congress has described as a person who wrote mercy petitions to the British for release from jail while freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru fought for the independence struggle and spent many a day in jail.
During a programme in Aurangabad in March 2022, Koshyari said Samarth Ramdas was the ‘guru’ of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, a comment that created a stir in the state. Historians believe Brahmins installed Ramdas as the guru of Shivaji Maharaj to take credit for the work of Shivaji. However, contemporary important historical texts have no mention of Ramdas, Indian Express quoted historian Shrimant Kokate as saying.
First Published: Jan 23, 2023 3:57 PM IST
