Navale sacked after threat episode

Reacting to his summary dismissal, Navale termed the action “unfortunate.” Instead of accepting his resignation, which he had submitted to the Chief Minister in his office today, he was dismissed from the ministry with the sole intention of humiliating him, he said.

Given this climax, moves made by the Chief Minister on Monday night show the consternation ofthe party over the Navale episode. Not only Joshi, but senior Sena leader Udhav Thackeray and Revenue Minister Narayan Rane called on him at his official residence on Monday night to persuade him to refrain from submitting his resignation.

“It is true that I had personally asked Navale not to resign from the ministry,” confirmed the Chief Minister and added that he had hoped that the misgivings Navale entertained with regard to the functioning of the government could be set at rest. “However, when there was no response from him, I decided to sack him with the permission of Sena chief Bal Thackeray,” Joshi said.

When Joshi’s attention was drawn to Navale’s charge that he did not take serious cognisance of the complaint lodged by him and that it was the work of Sena activists, the Chief Minister denied the charge pointing out that adequate police protection was provided to him to ensure his safety as soon as Navale informed him of the incident. “I will not comment on the political affiliation of thegoons, who entered his bungalow since the entire case is under investigation by the police,” Joshi said.

Joshi dismissed a suggestion that the dismissal of Navale was linked to the cross-voting in the recently held biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha and Thackeray’s subsequent directives to party workers to teach a lesson to traitors.

In his brief, but strongly worded resignation letter, Navale said it was a black day for him since his own party workers had entered his house to settle political scores. “Despite the fact it was a very serious incident, I am shocked at the manner in which, you treated my complaint. I feel that you adopted a casual approach to such a serious matter. Under such circumstances, it will be difficult to work in the government,” Navale wrote.

Expressing surprise over his dismissal, Navale said he had personally informed the Chief Minister on his decision to quit, and accordingly, he forwarded the resignation to Joshi around 11 am today.

Navale said after submitting hisresignation, he was on way to Beed, his home town. As he reached Panvel, he was informed on the mobile phone that he had been dismissed from the ministry. “I returned to the city immediately,” he added.

Though Navale had been initially silent on the political affiliation of the goons who barged into his house on Monday, he alleged today that all of them belonged to the Shiv Sena. “They were shakha and vibhag pramukhs from the metropolis,” adding in the same breath, “since I am not well versed with the party organisation in the city, I was unable to recognise them.”

Earlier, the Legislative Assembly was rocked for the second consecutive day over the threat to the lives of Navale and former minister of state Gulabrao Gawande. Opposition members rushed to the podium and also raised slogans demanding dismissal of the Chief Minister.

At one stage, there was tension in the House after Congress members Rajendra Patil and Sitaram Mhetre took the mace, while another Congress member Anees Ahmad made anattempt to take the file on the Speaker’s table.

Joshi then a moved a motion for the suspension of these members for the remaining period of the session. However, after leader of opposition Madhukarrao Pichad lodged a protest, Speaker Dattaji Nalawade asked Joshi to withdraw the motion.

NEW DELHI: Meanwhile, the issue had its reverberations in the Lok Sabha too, with Congress members charging Shiv Sena, an ally of the ruling BJP, with making attempts to “eliminate” some of its leaders in Mumbai for allegedly joining hands with rebels, even as the government gave an assurance to make a statement on the issue tomorrow. Angry congress members alleged that the law and order machinery had broken down in Maharashtra and demanded that a Central team be sent to the state to assess it.