Fadnavis says four directors on Gokul were appointed with Shinde and Sunetra Pawar's consent

The state government has decided to appoint four directors to Gokul. The Shinde faction had criticised the government over the move, saying there should be no politics in Gokul and that the public's verdict should be respected. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has now responded for the first time, saying the decision was taken only with the consent of Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar.

Fadnavis said the Cabinet took the decision. According to him, leaders of all four parties, including those of Jansurajya, appeared before the Cabinet before it was taken, and all of them raised the legal hurdle. For this reason the government sought the Advocate General's opinion, and the Advocate General's proposal followed. Fadnavis said he, Sunetra Pawar and Eknath Shinde discussed it and the proposal was drawn up with the signatures of all three. In his words, the decision was taken as a government and there is no displeasure on the part of any party. He also said that without the legal hurdle, this situation would not have arisen.

Fadnavis explained that there are two factions in the Gokul election and neither has enough votes to form a quorum. Without a quorum, a chairperson cannot be elected. Even if one faction boycotts or stays away from the meeting, the chairperson cannot be elected. According to him, when the election was scheduled, one faction was absent, so it was not held. When the matter went to court, the court asked for the election to be held on the 10th. But the court has not said the election should be held without a quorum if one is not formed that day as well. The chief minister therefore said the chairperson will not be elected.

He said that under Gokul's law and bylaws, if elections are not held three times, all powers pass to the DDR and the elected members lose their powers. For this reason, a law has been made to nominate some people with voting rights so that the quorum is complete. According to Fadnavis, the state government has taken this decision only for the quorum. He said the perception that the government wants to take over Gokul is wrong.

Fadnavis said Gokul has about five thousand voters, and that the body is confined to one district or has influence in a few tehsils. In his view, there is no reason to believe the government is restless over such a small body. If the two factions sit together and decide, there will be no need for government-appointed directors. He asked Hasan Mushrif, Vinay Kore and Satej Patil to talk and decide among themselves. Fadnavis said the government only has to discharge its legal responsibility. If meetings keep getting postponed for want of a quorum, the powers will in any case come to the government and the work will have to be run through the DDR.

Fadnavis said the government does not want to take the body under its control. According to him, it is not a very big body, but it is a good one. Gokul has no effect on state politics, and for the government there is no politics in it. He repeated that the two factions should sit down and talk among themselves.