Mumbai, Aug 11 (IANS) Amid the ongoing controversy between the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Shiv Sena over the guardian ministership of the Raigad district, the NCP women and child welfare minister Aditi Tatkare has been assigned to do flag hoisting in Raigad district on the Independence Day.

The General Administration Department (GAD) on Monday issued a government resolution chalking out names of ministers who will be hoisting flag at all the district headquarters. The Chief Minister will preside over the main ceremony at Mantralaya while the Governor CP Radhakrishnan will be hoisting the flag at Pune.

The NCP and the Shiv Sena are engaged in a tussle over the guardian ministership of Raigad with the Sena keen that its MLA Bharat Gogawale, who is a minister of Employment Guarantee scheme, horticulture and salt pan land development and hails from Mahad in Raigad be given the post. State NCP chief Sunil Tatkare has been insistent that his daughter Aditi Tatkare be the guardian minister.

The same is the case with Nashik district where the Shiv Sena had staked its claim as well.

The initial appointment in January of Aditi Tatkare of NCP and Girish Mahajan of BJP as guardian ministers for Raigad and Nashik districts respectively was stayed after the discontent from the Shiv Sena camp.

In his recent trip to Delhi, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde had reportedly discussed the issue with Union Home minister Amit Shah. “He had suggested that the leaders of Shiv Sena and NCP should solve the issue after discussion,” said a sources within the Sena.

Following this, Shinde and NCP state chief Sunil Tatkare held a meeting. Gogawale too after Shinde’s trip to Delhi had said that if the issue is not solved till August 15, he will accept any decision taken by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and two deputy CM Ekanth Shinde and Ajit Pawar.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar who is the guardian minister of Pune and Beed will hoist flag in Beed while another deputy CM Eknath Shinde will be at his home district of Thane. Revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule will be at Nagpur. BJP minister Girish Mahajan will be hoisting the flag at Nasik, which is also a disputed district over the guardian ministership.

–IANS

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