MVA plans to avoid ’office of profit’ row, no perks for Waikar, Sawant

In a bid to avoid any controversy over the appointment of Shiv Sena MLA Ravindra Waikar and party MP Arvind Sawant to key posts with Cabinet rank, the Uddhav Thackeray-led government may issue a notification as per which they may not get perks and allowances for the posts.

The state government had appointed Waikar as the chief coordinator in the chief minister's office (CMO) and Sawant as the head of the state Parliamentary Coordination Committee.

"A notification or a revised Government Resolution (GR) will be issued as per which they may not get perks and allowances for the posts. This is to avoid any allegations of office of profit," an official said on Thursday.

Waikar, who is an MLA from Jogeshwari constituency in suburban Mumbai, was appointed chief coordinator in CMO and also allotted the rank of Cabinet minister. His responsibility is to coordinate with public representatives and the chief minister on fast-tracking projects and fund allocations.

Sawant, an MP from South Mumbai, was last week appointed as the chairman of a state-level parliamentary committee set up to follow up pending proposals related to Maharashtra with the central government. He was also given the rank of a Cabinet minister.

However, the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government thinks that the opposition BJP may try to corner it during the upcoming Budget session of the state legislature over these appointments citing the office of profit.

Talking to PTI, Sawant said the office of profit issue will not arise if he and Waikar do not avail allowances and perks that come with the post.

When contacted, Waikar said, "How can the government give us perks and allowances as elected representatives and in our new posts together? We have not yet taken charge. A rectification to the GR will be done."

Waikar was Minister of State for Housing in the previous Devendra Fadnavis-led government, while Sawant was Minister for Heavy Industries in the Modi government. He was not inducted by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray into his cabinet, while Sawant quit as Union minister when the Sena and BJP fell out over power sharing in Maharashtra.