Mumbai, March 26 Maharashtra Legislative Council Chairman Ram Shinde has said that his deputy Neelam Gorhe's order to suspend Satara SP will be forwarded to legal and constitutional experts for their opinion, and only then a decision will be made.
Shinde made these remarks in the Upper House on Wednesday, effectively putting on hold the suspension of Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Tushar Doshi and other officials over the commotion during the Satara Zilla Parishad (ZP) president election last week.
Council Deputy Chairperson Gorhe had on Monday asked the state government to suspend Satara Superintendent of Police Doshi, a directive that did not go down well with the BJP, which heads the ruling coalition.
"The decision on suspending the Satara SP and other officials will be forwarded to legal and constitutional experts, and a decision will be made later," Shinde said in the council on Wednesday.
After considering the decision taken by the deputy chairperson, the government must investigate the incident and take action according to the law, he maintained.
The chairman concurred with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' argument on the issue.
On Tuesday, Fadnavis said that the powers of the executive, judiciary, and legislature are well defined in the Constitution.
Executive powers rest with the executive, and it is accountable to the legislature. The government makes an effort to implement the directions given by the chairman, the CM stated.
"But, after apologizing to the chairman, I am saying this. The speaker (of the assembly) and the chairman (of the council) cannot step into the shoes of the executive," the CM had asserted.
"When the chairman issues any direction, it is a direction issued based on the given circumstances. The executive acts if there is any reality to it. If the facts are different from reality, the executive has the right to tell the legislature that the reality is different, and its direction cannot be implemented," Fadnavis, who holds the Home portfolio, said.
Ministers Shambhuraj Desai (Shiv Sena) and Makarand Patil (Nationalist Congress Party) had alleged that the local police manhandled them during the poll held on March 20 to elect the Satara ZP president.
Bharatiya Janata Party's Priya Shinde was elected the Satara ZP president, defeating the Shiv Sena-NCP combine's candidate despite the latter having a majority in the rural local body. The BJP narrowly surpassed the Sena-NCP alliance's tally to win the top post.