BackFadnavis snubs Shiv Sena, rejects no-confidence motion against IAS Mundhe
BJP functionaries say Fadnavis, who holds the urban development ministry, had taken a 'sensible and politically correct' decision to support Navi Mumbai Municipal commissioner Mundhe
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Mumbai: In the battle between Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on one side and Navi Mumbai Municipal commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has decided to throw his weight behind the IAS officer. The state government on Wednesday suspended a no-confidence motion passed by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) against Mundhe. Last week, Fadnavis, in an uncharacteristically stern message to the Shiv Sena, said he would abide by the law on this issue, indicating that he would want Mundhe to continue when asked about Sena president Uddhav Thackeray’s demand to dismiss the officer.
Fadnavis’s support for Mundhe is likely to become another bone of contention between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena, the two allies routinely sparring with each other on a range of issues. Thackeray, through an editorial in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamna’, has demanded that the chief minister dismiss Mundhe on the basis of the no-confidence motion passed against him by the general body of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation. Last week, corporators from all political parties except BJP at the NCP-ruled Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation voted in favour of the no-confidence motion. Six BJP corporators voted against the resolution.
On Saturday, Navi Mumbai corporators from Shiv Sena and NCP met Thackeray at his residence to demand Mundhe’s dismissal. Fadnavis, talking to journalists at his official residence Varsha on Sunday, virtually supported Mundhe saying he was a chief minister “who always followed the law". Fadnavis was asked to react to Thackeray’s demand to “respect the no-confidence motion passed by the corporators or get rid of the legal provision that empowers the general body of a civic body to move the no-confidence motion".
The Shiv Sena, which shares power with the BJP in Maharashtra, last week gave stern advice to Fadnavis to respect “the majority view at NMMC and dismiss Mundhe". In an editorial in the ‘Saamna’, the Sena pointed out that it has always supported “honest, efficient, and upright officers" but it opposed “abuse of official powers to create problems for elected representatives and ill-treatment of corporators". The editorial says that “an official cannot claim efficiency by acting like Robin Hood or Don and gaining popularity among people" in an apparent reference to Mundhe’s popularity among citizens in Navi Mumbai.
In Navi Mumbai itself, the fight between the elected members and Mundhe recorded a new low when Navi Mumbai mayor Sudhakar Sonawane wrote to the Navi Mumbai commissioner of police to “stop Mundhe from attending his NMMC office". The letter by Sonawane says it is “improper and unethical of Mundhe to continue to attend his NMMC office even though he was dismissed via a no-confidence motion". Fearing that Mundhe may act “vindictively" against the elected members who had supported the no-confidence motion, the mayor asked the police commissioner to issue instructions to the “ousted" municipal commissioner to stay away from NMMC.
BJP functionaries say Fadnavis, who holds the urban development ministry, had taken a “sensible and politically correct" decision to support Mundhe. “The chief minister obviously saw that Mundhe has gained immense popularity among the people of Navi Mumbai who backed the officer against the no-confidence motion. In this situation, the motion itself becomes a mere technicality and if he had really sacked Mundhe, the chief minister would have shown himself as not representing the will of the people in Navi Mumbai in favour of the honest officer," said a state BJP functionary who did not wish to be named.
An urban development official, who requested anonymity, said Fadnavis was very conscious of his “clean image".
“The chief minister cannot ignore the fact that a number of citizens and anti-corruption activists in Navi Mumbai have taken to streets in support of Mundhe. The elected representatives have a reason to feel alarmed by Mundhe because he is businesslike and does not take kindly to political interference," the official said.
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