Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais will be the new governor of Maharashtra after President Droupadi Murmu accepted Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s resignation. Koshyari’s departure follows a recent controversy over a remark he made about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj; however, his tenure was no less contentious until Uddhav Thackeray took charge. Koshyari, 81, declared his wish to quit from his position and dedicate more time to reading and writing in January.
“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 said in a statement issued earlier.
As Koshyari volunteered to resign, there was uncertainty over who would take over the vital role in a state that shifted from the Maha Vikas Aghadi administration to the BJP, with a Shiv Sena group led by Eknath Shinde joining forces with the BJP. Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s name was mentioned, but he confirmed that the reports were false.
The BJP is under fire for Koshyari’s Shivaji statement.
The BJP was cornered over BS Koshyari’s ‘old icon’ comment in which he said: “Earlier, when you would be asked who is your icon — Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Mahatma Gandhi used to be the answers. Whereas in Maharashtra, you need not look elsewhere (as) there are so many icons here… while Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is of olden times, there are icons such as Ambedkar and Nitin Gadkari in modern times.”
