New Delhi: Mukul Rohatgi, former Attorney General and presently the lawyer of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, has termed the 7.50 a.m. swearing-in of Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar and the haste with which President’s rule was revoked in the state as “odd”.
In an interview with Karan Thapar on the political situation in Maharashtra, Rohatgi answered a range of questions on major constitutional and legal issues arising out of this crisis, as well matters to do with propriety.
Questioned closely about Governor B.S. Koshyari’s failure to take into account the fact that five hours before Ajit Pawar claimed that NCP was supporting Fadnavis, Sharad Pawar had publicly announced the party’s support for Udhav Thackeray, Rohatgi said the Governor is not required to go by what’s said on television or the papers, but only by what is presented to him by the legislative party leader of the NCP.
When it was pointed out that as a result of the Governor knowingly allowed himself to be misled by Ajit Pawar, Rohatgi responded by saying the Governor has no mechanism to verify for himself nor is it his job to do so.
The Governor went by signed letters of support given by Ajit Pawar and that was sufficient ground for believing the NCP was supporting Devendra Fadnavis.
On the issue of the haste with which President’s rule was revoked (at 2.10 am) and the new government was sworn in (7.50 a.m.) on Saturday, Rohatgi initially said this was because (a) President’s rule is an anathema to the Constitution and (b) because the Governor had been waiting since October 24 for a government to be formed and when finally one emerged, he believed it was important to bring it into existence as soon as possible.
