Anandrao Adsul, a leader in the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction, on Tuesday warned the Bharatiya Janata Party that if he is not made a state governor within 15 days, he will file a curative petition in the Supreme Court in the matter related to former MP Navneet Rana’s caste certificate, The Indian Express reported.
Adsul represented Maharashtra’s Amravati Lok Sabha constituency between 2009 and 2019, when Rana defeated him as an independent candidate. She later aligned with the BJP and lost the seat in the 2024 general election.
In April, the Supreme Court reversed a Bombay High Court judgement that had set aside Rana’s caste certificate, which said she belonged to the Mochi caste, in the Scheduled Castes category. She filed her nomination from Amravati after the verdict.
The High Court order on Rana’s caste certificate had come on an application filed by Adsul.
The Shinde Sena and the BJP are part of the Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra. The alliance also includes the Nationalist Congress Party faction led by Ajit Pawar.
Adsul has claimed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had offered him a governor’s post for withdrawing his claim on the Amravati seat in May. The Shine Sena was offered two Union Cabinet positions and two governorships, according to Adsul.
He also claimed that Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had signed a letter recommending his appointment as governor, which was sent to the BJP’s top leadership.
“Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had assured me that I would be appointed as the governor,” Adsul was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. “Union Home Minister Amit Shah also gave his assurance. But no promise was fulfilled. I can’t wait forever.”
He added: “Twenty-five months have passed since Fadnavis made this promise, and two-and-a-half months since Amit Shah’s promise… Now, I will not wait any longer.”
Rana’s caste certificate was issued by the Mumbai deputy collector and validated by the Mumbai Suburban District Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee.
In June 2021, the High Court held that Rana had got her caste certificate fraudulently by using fabricated documents. The court directed her to surrender it within six weeks and imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh.
However, later that month, a vacation bench of the Supreme Court stayed the High Court judgement.
Maharashtra is scheduled to head for Assembly elections in about three months.
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