The appointment of former bureaucrat Praveen Pardeshi as Chief Economic Advisor to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has been mired in controversy with NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar calling the move an intrusion in the Ajit Pawar-led finance department.
Mumbai:The appointment of former bureaucrat Praveen Pardeshi as Chief Economic Advisor to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has been mired in controversy with NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar calling the move an intrusion in the Ajit Pawar-led finance department. In BJP’s dictionary, the meaning of allies is only a ‘temporary convenience,’ said Rohit Pawar.
In his post on X, Rohit Pawar stated, “Fadnavis reviewed several decisions taken by Shinde in the last 2.5 years when the latter was the CM. It's Ajit Pawar’s turn.”
“The Chief Minister has infiltrated Ajit Pawar’s Finance Department by creating the post of ‘Chief Economic Advisor to the Chief Minister’ with the status of a Minister of State. Henceforth, all policy decisions of the Finance Department and administrative decisions will also fall under the CM’s jurisdiction through the CEA,” said Rohit Pawar.
“The appointment of a Chief Economic Advisor is another step in the direction of centralising power. In a democracy, decentralisation of power and teamwork have always yielded better results than centralised power, so it would be in the interest of Maharashtra if the chief minister changes his working style,” he added.
Mr. Pardeshi was appointed to the newly created post with the status of a Minister of State. He will be responsible for preparing the Vision 2047 roadmap. He will submit quarterly reports on state finances, formulate incentives for EVs, MSMEs, and green energy and coordinate with NITI Aayog on strategic development initiatives.
Mr. Pardeshi is also the CEO of Maharashtra Institution of Transformation, which had been set up when Eknath Shinde was the CM — on the lines of NITI Aayog. He is also the Chairperson of Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee, the civic panel that oversees the conservation of heritage structures and heritage precincts in the city.
The 1985 IAS batch officer, who served as the Principal and Additional Chief Secretary to Fadnavis between 2014 and 2019, is a nature lover and the President of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), the oldest and biggest NGO of the country.
Rohit Pawar also launched a scathing attack on the BJP, accusing it of following a use-and-throw policy with its allies. “In the BJP’s dictionary, allies are merely for temporary convenience. Once the purpose is served, even that convenience is discarded. While many recognise this political strategy from the outside, it is unfortunate that the allies who are being hunted do not realise it until they are hunted,” he said.
