Maharashtra Elections Over, MahaYuti Government Brings Rashmi Shukla Back As DGP
Rashmi Shukla is back as the Maharashtra Director General of Police. After assuming the charge, Shukla on Tuesday attended the function to pay homage to martyrs in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack in the presence of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.
Mumbai, November 26: Rashmi Shukla is back as the Maharashtra Director General of Police. After assuming the charge, Shukla on Tuesday attended the function to pay homage to martyrs in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack in the presence of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on November 4 removed Rashmi Shukla, an IPS of the 1998 batch from the post of Maharashtra State Director General of Police (DGP) during the Assembly election. Following ECI’s approval the state government had appointed Sanjiv Kumar Verma, an IPS of the 1990 batch as the Director General of Police of Maharashtra. Veer was the director general of Law and Technical. He is due to retire in April 2028. Maharashtra Govt Reinstates Rashmi Shukla as DGP.
The ECI’s move to remove Shukla came after Congress in particular and the Maha Vikas Aghadi sought her removal for "fair and transparent" elections. Congress had then said that "even though ECI had removed the Jharkhand DGP amid the ongoing Assembly election, why Shukla was allowed to continue in her post".
The MahaYuti government had appointed Shukla as the state DGP in January this year till January 2026 though she was set to retire in June this year. Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief Nana Patole and Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut last week reiterated their demand for the immediate removal of state director general of police Rashmi Shukla. Rashmi Shukla Removed by Election Commission Amid Allegations of BJP Bias Before Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024, Say Sources.
Patole claimed that Shukla was a controversial officer who sided with the BJP, and with her in office, there are doubts about the elections being conducted fairly and transparently. Patole said that Congress had appealed to the ECI to remove Shukla from her post but the poll panel ignored it. After her removal during the poll process, the state government in its notification had hinted that it would be effective up to the conclusion of the Assembly election.
The state Congress had approached the Bombay High Court against the state government’s move though the high court did not give an immediate relief to the petitioners. On Monday, the home department put up a file pertaining to Shukla to be re-appointed as the Maharashtra DGP for Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s approval. After his consent, she took over.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 26, 2024 12:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).