Mumbai: The Shiv Sena (UBT) received a huge shock on Thursday when it was ignored for the crucial legislative panel – the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), whose chairman is picked from the largest party in the Opposition. Instead, the committee will be headed by Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar, who is the party group leader in the state assembly.
It’s not just the chairmanship of the PAC, but none of the Shiv Sena members have been accommodated in it when at least two Shiv Sena MLAs have found a place in other panels, such as the Estimates Committee, the Public Enterprises Committee and others.
All the legislative panels are dominated by the ruling parties based on their strength. The Sena UBT (20), the Congress (16), and the NCP (10) have representation in the ratio of 2:1:1 as they have 46 MLAs in the 288-member house.
The PAC examines Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India audit reports and holds significant authority, including summoning state government officials. departmental secretaries must attend when called to explain audit observations, giving the committee, especially its chairman, control over the state administration.
While the UBT faction secured no PAC representation, the NCP (SP) gained one seat, which went to Rohit Pawar.
Since the ruling party enjoys a bigger say in the formation of the committees, it can be said that keeping the UBT away from the PAC means it will not get an opportunity to cross-verify the performance of the government and lapses on the administrative part.
Besides, the chairman of the PAC gets a government vehicle and enjoys the protocol of a minister.
On the other hand, the Sena MLAs Varun Sardesai and Sanjay Potnis have found a place in the committee on the Public Enterprises, headed by the BJP member Rahul Kul. Its MLAs Rohit Patil and Kailas Patil have been appointed as members of the Estimates Committee, headed by the Shiv Sena member Arjun Khotkar.
There are 13 joint committees where members from the Assembly and the state Council are nominated. In an important decision, the chairmanship of the committee on Minorities has been given to Andheri East MLA Murji Patel, a BJP leader who joined the Shiv Sena before the elections.
On previous occasions, the chairmanship of the committee was preferably given to an MLA from the Muslim community. The committee will have four members – Abdul Sattar (Shiv Sena), Sana Malik (NCP), Harun Khan (Shiv Sena UBT) and Sajid Khan Pathan (Congress).
