Maha AG Aney Says CM Fadnavis Did Not Ask Him to Resign

Shreehari Aney who has just resigned from his post of AG says he was not asked to do this by CM Devendra Fadnavis.

Maharashtra Advocate General Shreehari Aney has said in a statement he issued on Monday that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis did not ask him to resign but it was his decision alone. Aney had resigned on Tuesday amid a row over his remarks about a separate Marathwada state. Aney drove to Raj Bhavan on Tuesday morning and handed over his resignation to Governor C Vidyasagar Rao, an official said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is expected to make a statement on the issue in the state Legislature today. Fadnavis had asked Aney to put in his papers, a senior minister said.

The move comes after the AG stoked a controversy by advocating separate statehood for the Marathwada region. He had earlier sparked a similar row by calling for a referendum on a separate Vidarabha state.

Let me make it clear that neither His Excellency the Governor nor the Honourable Chief Minister has asked me for my resignation.

Shreehari Aney, Maharashtra Advocate General

Aney met the CM at his official residence ‘Varsha’ last evening. With even the BJP’s ally Shiv Sena joining the strident protest against Aney in both the Houses of Legislature, the CM was left with little choice, the minister said.

As the principal law adviser, the AG’s responsibility is to represent the state government before the judiciary.

The opposition parties and the Shiv Sena yesterday moved separate motions in the Assembly seeking Aney’s dismissal. The Sena had refused to participate in the Cabinet meetings until Aney was sacked.

“Aney had earlier asked for a separate Vidarbha,” Sena leader Ramdas Kadam said, adding that the party also wants Aney booked for sedition.