CM, deputy CMs will decide on guardian minister row, says Aditi Tatkare

Mumbai, Jan 22 (PTI) Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Aditi Tatkare on Wednesday said the top leaders of the ruling Mahayuti will take a decision on the row within the ruling coalition over the appointment of district guardian ministers.

The appointment of Tatkare as guardian minister of Raigad, her home district, and Girish Mahajan as guardian minister of Nashik was stayed after rival claims to the post emerged.

"We trust Eknath Shinde and hope he will take an appropriate decision," Tatkare told reporters when asked about Shiv Sena minister Bharat Gogawale opposing her appointment.

Gogawale, who is from Raigad, had time and again said he was keen on the post. In Nashik too, local Shiv Sena leaders were eyeing the guardian minister post.

In Maharashtra, ministers are allotted a district each, in addition to various portfolios.

"Expressing one's wish is no problem, but the issue is how we express it," Aditi, the minister for Women and Child Development, further said.

"Whatever decision Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy CMs Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde take should be binding on all of us. In an alliance, there is a need for mutual understanding," she added.

Asked about criticism that she and her MP father, state Nationalist Congress Party chief Sunil Tatkare, want to maintain a vice-like grip on Raigad district, she said, "We are elected representatives from the area." Five legislators from Konkan have found place in the cabinet which shows that the government wants to focus on the coastal region's development, Aditi said. PTI MR KRK