Narendra Modi and Gujarat governor Kamla Beniwal share stage amid spat over Lokayukta
Gujarat's warring governor and Chief Minister today shared the stage for the first time after an open clash over a proposed law for a Lokayukta, or state ombudsman.
Narendra Modi and governor Kamla Beniwal sat together and even spoke at a function to mark teacher's day in Gandhinagar.
The photo-op belied the raging conflict between the two after the governor returned the Modi government's controversial Gujarat Lokayukta Commission Bill 2013 three days ago, despite the state assembly passing it with a clear majority earlier this year.
Ms Beniwal has objected to a clause that gives all powers to appoint the state Lokayukta to a committee headed by the Chief Minister, virtually eliminating the governor as well as the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court from the process.
But she will have to give her assent if the state government resubmits the bill in the assembly session that starts on September 30.
The state assembly had passed the bill after the Modi government lost a two-year long legal battle in the Supreme Court over the appointment of retired judge Justice R A Mehta as Lokayukta by the Governor. She had made that appointment without consulting the state cabinet, much to Mr Modi's chagrin.
Amid public spats, Mr Modi has repeatedly demanded that Governor Beniwal be recalled.