Margaret Alva’s reaction to Maharashtra Guv's remark targets her rival Veep pick Jagdeep Dhankhar

Opposition Vice Presidential nominee Margaret Alva said, "The comments by the Governor of Maharashtra are unfortunate, but not unexpected."

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New Delhi: Opposition Vice Presidential nominee Margaret Alva took a potshot at her rival NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar while condemning Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s remarks on Mumbai which has triggered a political storm. Terming Koshyari’s remarks ‘unfortunate but not unexpected’, the former Union minister said the Maharashtra Governor has received the message from Dhankhar’s vice presidential candidature that “foolish comments” get rewarded. 

“The comments by the Governor of Maharashtra are unfortunate, but not unexpected. The message he’s received from the ex Governor of W.Bengal’s candidature for VP is: controversy, foolish comments & operating like an extra constitutional authority, is behaviour that gets rewarded,” the veteran Congress leader wrote on Twitter. 

The comments by the Governor of Maharashtra are unfortunate, but not unexpected. The message he’s received from the ex Governor of W.Bengal’s candidature for VP is: controversy, foolish comments & operating like an extra constitutional authority, is behaviour that gets rewarded. — Margaret Alva (@alva_margaret) July 30, 2022

Jagdeep Dhankhar’s tenure as the Bengal Governor saw many face-offs with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, with TMC accusing him of acting as a “mouthpiece of a specific political party”, an apparent reference to BJP,  and “interfering in the functioning of the state of affairs”. 

Maharashtra Governor Koshyari stirred a row with his remark that Mumbai will not have any money left and it will cease to be the financial capital of the country if Gujarati and Rajasthani people are not there in the city. “I tell people here that if Gujaratis and Rajasthanis are removed from Maharashtra, especially Mumbai and Thane, you will have no money and Mumbai will not be a financial capital,” Koshyari said at an event on Friday. 

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and NCP MP Supriya Sule lambasted the Governor, while Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde distanced himself from the controversial statement. "We don't agree with Koshyari's view (on Mumbai). It's his personal view. He has now issued a clarification. He occupies a constitutional post and should take care that his actions are not insulting to others,” Shinde was quoted as saying by PTI. 

(With agency inputs)