top of page

By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

HC orders fresh elections in three months

Dr. Rumi F. Beramji Mumbai: In a jolt, the Bombay High Court has directed the state government to hold elections to the Maharashtra Council of Acupuncture (MCA) - which is managed by an Administrator for past three years – within three months, here on Friday. A division bench of the Bombay High Court (Aurangabad Bench) comprising Justice Ajit Kadethankar and Justice Vibha Kankanwadi were disposing off a petition filed a senior medical practitioner, Dr. Laxman Bhimrao Sawant through his...

HC orders fresh elections in three months

Dr. Rumi F. Beramji Mumbai : In a jolt, the Bombay High Court has directed the state government to hold elections to the Maharashtra Council of Acupuncture (MCA) - which is managed by an Administrator for past three years – within three months, here on Friday.   A division bench of the Bombay High Court (Aurangabad Bench) comprising Justice Ajit Kadethankar and Justice Vibha Kankanwadi were disposing off a petition filed a senior medical practitioner, Dr. Laxman Bhimrao Sawant through his lawyer Sharad V. Natu, seeking different reliefs.   These included alleged serious irregularities in the functioning of the MCA and challenging the continuation of the Administrator for a prolonged period pending the elections. The matter was highlighted in detail by  ‘ The Perfect Voice’   on April 21.   Strong Observations In its order uploaded today, Justice Kadethankar and Justice Kankanwadi noted the petitioner’s contentions that the Administrator, Dr. Rumi F. Beramji was appointed for only one year, and that period is over.   “It should be the endeavour of the State to implement the various provisions of the Act, that is, the Maharashtra Acupuncture System of Therapy Act, 2015. Holding of elections and formation of the council as per Section 3 of the said Act should be adhered to by the State Government and it cannot be then postponed in infinity,” said the court.   Accordingly, Justice Kadethankar and Justice Kankanwadi directed the state government, through the Medical Education & Drugs Department (MEDD) to conduct the MCA elections within a period of three months.   Prolonged Tenure Among other things, the petitioner had termed the appointment and prolonged tenure of former MCA Chairman Dr. Rumi F. Beramji as “illegal and arbitrary,” and detrimental to the cause of Acupuncture.   Elected as the inaugural head (May 2018-May 2023) of the five-member statutory body, Dr. Beramji, was subsequently appointed its Administrator after the MCA’s term expired.   Adv. Natu pointed out that the Administrator’s appointment was intended to be a stop-gap arrangement for one year to facilitate the polls, but it was subsequently ‘extended’. However, nearly three years later, Dr. Beramji continued without fresh elections being conducted, raising questions over adherence to statutory norms and principles of governance.   Directionless Members Dr. Sawant further contended that while Dr. Beramji was installed as Administrator, the remaining members of the council were effectively superseded, leaving the regulatory body without its mandated collective structure, and over 6500-members directionless.   He argued that the excuse cited for delay in conducting elections was ostensibly an incomplete voter list, but this reason was flimsy considering the extended time lapse.   The petition, which was heard and disposed of on April 22, also levelled serious allegations against the style of functioning of the MCA Administrator, decisions were taken unilaterally, whimsically and without transparency or institutional accountability.   Selective Targeting It also made accusations of ‘selective targeting’ of certain prominent members who attempted to raise valid issues, including the globally-renowned noted acupuncture expert Dr. P. B. Lohiya of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.   Other members raised doubts over approvals granted to more than a dozen acupuncture colleges and some two dozen Continuous Acupuncture Education (CAE) centres in undue haste, purportedly in violation of prescribed norms and alleged shady deals. Many of these institutions, it was claimed, either exist only on paper or lack essential infrastructure, faculty and facilities.   The petitioner called for a comprehensive review of the Administrator’s tenure, a financial audit of the MCA's affairs, and an independent probe by the MEDD into the approvals granted to the institutions in recent years.   Dr. Sawant had sought quashing Dr. Beramji’s appointment as MCA Administrator and setting aside all policy decisions taken during his tenure in the last three years, and ordering the government to hold elections to the body.

The Habitual Rebel

Updated: Nov 18, 2024

Pankaja Munde

Pankaja Munde is not contesting the assembly elections this year. However, she has been campaigning for other candidates nominated by the party. In her own words, she has been travelling across the state trying to mend ways between the Maratha and the OBC communities. The communities are on loggerheads after the Manoj Jarange-Patil’s Maratha quota stir that wanted Marathas to be identified as OBCs. She belongs to prominent OBC caste Vanjari and hence it is believed that she had been trying to consolidate the OBC vote for her party candidates.


Born on July 26, 1979, in Parli Vaijnath to Pradnya and Gopianth Munde, a senior BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Pankaja completed her schooling at Shri Saraswati Vidyalaya in Parli and later attended Jai Hind College in Mumbai. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Ramnarain Ruia College in 1999. She also has a management degree and is married to Amit Palwe, an IT professional. The couple have a son named Aryaman.


Pankja had been in headlines for all the wrong reasons over the past decade. It began even before the 2014 assembly election after the accidental demise of her father, who was then a union minister. Just ahead of the assembly polls she called herself the ‘CM in people’s minds’. It was considered to be the expression of her innate desire to rule the state and an expression related to the power struggle in the party.


After the election, she became minister of Rural Development, Women and Child Development, and Earthquake Rehabilitation departments. However, the ‘CM in people’s minds’ tag followed her. She used to speak about it too often. Unfortunately she also received the tag of the first minister of Devendra Fadnavis cabinet whose corruption was exposed. Though there was no immediate political loss to her, the corruption charges that came to be known as ‘Chikki Scam’ stuck to her name for a long time. To add to this insult, she had to bare the injury of losing assembly election in 2019. She wanted herself to be politically rehabilitated immediately. However, that too didn’t happen quickly.


In 2020 she was appointed as the National Secretary of the BJP. However, she kept sulking and lost the chance to take part in strengthening the party’s organizational structure and expanding its reach at the grassroots level.

espite facing challenges and controversies, Pankaja has remained steadfast in her commitment to public service. In the mean time she has mended ways with family members, especially estranged cousin Dhananjay Munde, for whom she even campaign in this election. It’ll be interesting to see how her political career takes turns in the future.

Comments

bottom of page