News Analysis India

Tag: Maharashtra Assembly

  • BJP holds mock session outside Maharashtra Assembly against suspension of 12 MLAs

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: BJP legislators, under the leadership Devendra Fadnavis, set up a “counter Assembly” on the steps of the Vidhan Bhavan here on Tuesday to hold a mock session as a mark of protest against the suspension of 12 party MLAs from the House for alleged misbehaviour.

    In the morning, several BJP legislators squatted on the stairs of the Legislature building and shouted slogans against the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA-comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) government.

    Fadnavis, who is the leader of opposition in the Assembly, announced BJP MLA Kalidas Kolamkar as the “speaker of the (counter) House” and proposed to hold a discussion.

    The former chief minister, while addressing the MLAs, claimed the 12 party legislators were suspended on the basis of false allegations.

    “Today, I propose a resolution against this government here and I request the members to start a discussion on the proposal,” he said.

    Fadnavis said his party MLAs want to speak against the functioning of this “tyrant government”.

    “They want to expose this ‘Vasooli’ (extortionist) and corrupt government,” he said.

    Later, security officials stopped the BJP members from using loudspeakers even as they shouted slogans against the government.

    Fadnavis told reporters that the government cannot stop the BJP from raising its voice against the “high-handedness” of the ruling dispensation.

    “Has the government imposed emergency?” he asked.

    “This is a black chapter…this is murder of democracy,” the BJP leader alleged.

    On Monday, 12 BJP MLAs were suspended from the Assembly for one year after the state government accused them of “misbehaving” with presiding officer Bhaskar Jadhav in the Speaker’s chamber.

    Fadnavis had termed the allegation as false and said Jadhav’s account of the incident was “one-sided”

  • Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut justifies suspension of 12 Maharashtra MLAs; BJP protests

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: A day after 12 BJP MLAs were suspended from the Maharashtra Assembly for alleged misbehaviour, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said indiscipline cannot be tolerated, even as the opposition party held protests in the Vidhan Bhavan complex here and other parts of the state over the action.

    Talking to reporters here on Tuesday, Raut said, “Never before the state Legislature witnessed such indiscipline.”

    The opening day of the state Legislature’s two-day monsoon session on Monday witnessed high drama as 12 BJP MLAs were suspended from the Assembly for one year after the state government accused them of “misbehaving” with presiding officer Bhaskar Jadhav in the Speaker’s chamber.

    Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Devendra Fadnavis had termed the allegation as false and said Jadhav’s account of the incident was “one-sided”.

    ALSO READ | 12 BJP MLAs suspended from Maharashtra Assembly for a year for ‘misbehaving’ with presiding officer

    On Tuesday, Raut said, “Indiscipline cannot be tolerated. Breaking the Speaker’s mike and using abusive language against the presiding officer is not Maharashtra’s culture.”

    Meanwhile, the BJP held protests in different parts of the state, condemning the MVA government’s action against the opposition party’s MLAs.

    Several BJP legislators squatted on the stairs of the Vidhan Bhavan building in Mumbai and shouted slogans against the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA-comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) government.

    The 12 MLAs against whom the action was taken were not seen as they are not allowed to enter the Legislature building during the suspension period.

    The 12 suspended members are- Sanjay Kute, Ashish Shelar, Abhimanyu Pawar, Girish Mahajan, Atul Bhatkhalkar, Parag Alavani, Harish Pimpale, Yogesh Sagar, Jay Kumar Rawat, Narayan Kuche, Ram Satpute and Bunty Bhangdia.

    On Monday, these 12 MLAs met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, seeking his intervention into the matter, and complained against the MVA government for “trampling upon the democracy”.

  • 12 BJP MLAs suspended from Maharashtra Assembly for a year for ‘misbehaving’ with presiding officer

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Twelve BJP MLAs were suspended from the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for one year after the state government accused them of “misbehaving” with presiding officer Bhaskar Jadhav in the Speaker’s chamber on Monday.

    The motion to suspend the MLAs was moved by state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anil Parab and passed by a voice vote.

    The 12 suspended members are- Sanjay Kute, Ashish Shelar, Abhimanyu Pawar, Girish Mahajan, Atul Bhatkhalkar, Parag Alavani, Harish Pimpale, Yogesh Sagar, Jay Kumar Rawat, Narayan Kuche, Ram Satpute and Bunty Bhangdia.

    Parab said during the period of suspension, the 12 legislators will not be allowed to enter the Legislature premises in Mumbai and Nagpur. Objecting to the decision, BJP members, led by Devendra Fadnavis, said the opposition would boycott the House proceedings.

    “This is a false allegation and an attempt to reduce the numbers of opposition benches, because we exposed the government’s falsehood on the OBC quota in local bodies,” Fadnavis said. He said the BJP members had not abused the presiding officer.

    “It was Shiv Sena MLAs who used abusive words. I brought our MLAs out of the Speaker’s chamber,” the leader of opposition said. Ashish Shelar apologised and the matter ended, the former CM said, claiming that what Jadhav said was a “one-sided” account.

    Earlier, NCP leader and minister Nawab Malik accused the BJP members of misbehaving with Bhaskar Jadhav and the state Assembly was adjourned four times over the issue.

  • OBC quota issue: Maharashtra Assembly passes resolution to seek 2011 census data from Centre

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Monday passed a resolution urging the Centre to provide the 2011 census data to enable the State Backward Class Commission to prepare an empirical data of the OBC population, in a bid to restore political reservations for its members in local bodies.

    The resolution, moved by NCP leader and state Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, was passed by a voice vote amid an uproar by members of the opposition BJP. The House also saw two adjournments over the issue.

    The BJP members trooped into the well of the House and shouted slogans against the state government, as Leader of the Opposition Devendra Fadnavis said the resolution was “politically motivated and will serve no purpose”.

    He said the apex court had asked the Backward Class Commission to conduct an empirical inquiry to ascertain political backwardness of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The BJP leader accused the state government of doing nothing on what the court had sought.

    Fadnavis said the 2011 census data had “eight crore mistakes”, while the (census) data from Maharashtra had “69 lakh mistakes”. Hence, it was not given, he said.

    To this, Bhujbal asked, “If there are mistakes in the data, why wasn’t the rectification and correction done? Why were you sitting over the data for six years. If the data is used for central schemes like Ujjwala gas, why isn’t it being given for the OBC (quota issue).”

    The 2021 census has not begun due to COVID-19, then how can the state government begin an empirical inquiry for the OBC population? he asked. The minister said when Fadnavis was the chief minister, he wrote to the NITI Ayog on August 1, 2019, seeking the census data.

    “Why are you playing with words like empirical inquiry or data? We are pursuing the demand for census data with the Centre. The Supreme Court has asked the State Backward Class Commission to conduct an empirical inquiry, which can be done only after the census data is provided,” he said.

    When presiding officer Bhaskar Jadhav put the resolution for vote, BJP members Girish Mahajan and Sanjay Kute climbed the Speaker’s podium and argued with the Chair. The Chair subsequently adjourned the House for 10 minutes.

    Later, when the House reassembled, Sunil Prabhu (Shiv Sena) and Nawab Malik (NCP) alleged that BJP members “misbehaved” with the presiding officer and manhandled him in the Speaker’s chamber. “Action should be taken against them,” they said. Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal then adjourned the House for another 15 minutes.

    Later, speaking to reporters outside the House, Fadnavis said BJP members had not misbehaved with the presiding officer. “Since we exposed the falsehood of the government, some new twist is being given so that the House doesn’t function. Bhujbal has not given factual information in the House. The central government hasn’t used census data for its schemes,” he said.

    The Supreme Court earlier this year quashed quota for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in local bodies after observing that the total number of seats earmarked for various communities, including the SCs sand STs, should not exceed 50 per cent of its total strength.

    Earlier in the day, Fadnavis said the SC had asked for an empirical inquiry (into the issue of OBCs population) through the State Backward Class Commission. “The apex court has not asked for census data. The resolution is time pass, face saver and misleading, and will not yield anything. But, we will support the resolution as we want to stand by the OBCs,” the BJP leader said.

  • Fadnavis demands arrest of police officer involved in Antilla bomb scare probe

    By ANI
    MUMBAI: Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday demanded the arrest of Mumbai Police officer Sachin Vaze for his alleged involvement in the death of Mansukh Hiren, the man who owned the vehicle that triggered a scare outside Reliance group chairman Mukesh Ambani’s residence.

    Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze is currently serving in the Crime Intelligence Unit and was the Investigative Officer in the Antilia bomb case at the beginning of the probe, before he was replaced by an ACP-level officer.

    While speaking in the Maharashtra Assembly, Fadnavis asked, “Why he is not being arrested yet? if not under 302 (murder) why not under Section 201 of IPC (destroying evidence) at least for now? Who is defending him?”

    He also read out the statement of Hiren’s wife in the House – “I suspect Police officer Sachin Vaze has killed my husband,” and made several allegations against Vaze while reading out the statement.

    “The Scorpio car of Mansukh Hiren was with Sachin Vaze for four months from November last year to February 2, 2021. Sachin Vaze took statements from Mansukh from February 26 to 28. Mansukh told his wife on March 3 that Sachin Vaze has asked him to get arrested, and Vaze assured bail in two to three days, but Hiren refused the suggestion,” he said while reading out the wife’s statements.

    He further alleged that Mansukh had written a complaint to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and against the police and media for harassment, and the complaint had been prepared by Vaze, alleges Fadnavis quoting Hiren’s wife.

    Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze is currently serving in the Crime Intelligence Unit and was the Investigative Officer in the Antilia bomb case at the beginning of the probe.

    A car carrying unassembled explosive materials was found abandoned at Carmichael Road in South Mumbai on February 25, near the house of Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani.

    The owner of the vehicle, Mansukh Hiren, was found dead in a creek in the Thane district on Friday. Now, ATS Maharashtra is investigating this case as a murder case.

    Soon after, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) received orders from the Ministry of Home Affairs to probe the case.

    The Leader of Opposition also demanded a reply from Home Minister. There were at least 3 adjournments due to uproar in the House since Mansukh Hiren’s death issue. 

  • Deputy Chief Minister chair or out of Maharashtra alliance, says Congress

    By Express News Service
    MUMBAI: After the resignation of Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Nana Patole, Congress may demand the deputy chief minister’s post in Uddhav Thackeray’s government. Congress sources said that Rahul Gandhi has asked leaders in Maharashtra to balance the power-sharing.

    “If the demand is not fulfilled, then Congress may pull out of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government or support it from outside without sharing power. Rahul has asked leaders to be aggressive with their demands,” said a highly-placed source.

    Congress MLAs have complained to the party brass that they are not getting due importance. In Maha Vikas Aghadi, Shiv Sena has 57 MLAs, NCP 54 and Congress 44.

    Nana Patole has taken charge as president of Congress state unit.

    “In decision making Sena and NCP are in the forefront while Congress is ignored. Sena has the CM and NCP the deputy CM. Congress has no important post. We explained this to Rahul and he is convinced for the deputy CM’s post,” added the source.

    He said Deputy CM Ajit Pawar calls meetings of officers and takes major decisions. “If this continues, Congress will lose its space to either NCP or Sena.”

    Pawar clarified that during the formation of government, all three parties sat together and worked out a power-sharing formula. “Now, there is no talk of giving the deputy CM post to Congress,” the NCP leader clarified.

  • Former Maharashtra minister Vilas Patil Undalkar passes away at 82

    By PTI
    SATARA: Former Maharashtra cabinet minister and seven-time Congress MLA Vilas Patil Undalkar died in a private hospital here on Monday following a brief illness, family sources said.

    He was 82.

    An old Congress hand, Undalkar, popularly known as ‘kaka’, was elected seven times till 2014 from Karad-South Assembly seat, now represented by senior party leader Prithviraj Chavan.

    In the 2014 state Assembly elections, the Congress denied ticket to Undalkar and fielded Chavan.

    Undaklar fought against Chavan independently, but could not retain his seat against the former chief minister.

    Undalkar served as minister in the law and justice and cooperative departments during the previous Congress-led state governments.

    His last rites will be conducted at his native village Undale village in Karad taluka of Satara district.