The BJP-led saffron alliance Government and Opposition had a massive showdown on Wednesday, after as many as 19 Congress and NCP MlAs were suspended from the State Assembly till December 31, 2017 for disrupting the proceedings during the presentation of the State Budget last week over the farm loan waiver issue.
In what the Opposition described as a “desperate attempt” by the ruling BJP to avert a possible defeat of the State Government in a vote on a Financial Bill on the floor of the House, legislative Affairs Minister Girish Bapat moved a resolution seeking suspension of 19 Congress MlAs till December 31, 2017 for creating ruckus in the House during the presentation on the Budget on Saturday and burning copies of the Finance Minister’s speech in Vidhan Bhavan.
Bapat sprang a nasty surprise on the Opposition and also the Shiv Sena which had also joined the Congress and NCP in staging protests last week demanding farm loan waiver, when the House met as early as 10 am to transact some special business.
Soon after the Minister read out the resolution seeking the suspension of 19 Congress and NCP MlAs, Speaker Haribhau Bagade put the resolution for a voice vote. With the Sena MlAs not opposing the ruling BJP’s move, the House adopted resolution through a voice vote, amid protests by the Opposition members who were not in large numbers at that time.
The MlAs, whom the Speaker suspended after the adoption of the resolution, comprised nine from the Congress and 10 from the NCP. They were: Amar Kale, Vijay Waddetiwar, Harshwardhan Sakpal, Abdul Sattar, DP Sawant, Sangram Thopte, Amit Zanak, Kunal Patil, Jaikumar Gore, all belonging to the Congress, Bhaskar Jadhav, Jitendra Awhad, Madhusudan Kendre, Sangram Jagtap, Avdhut Tatkare, Deepak Chavan, Datta Bharne, Narhari Jirval, Vaibhav Pichad and Rahul Jagtap, all belonging to the NCP.
Incidentally, the suspension of 19 Opposition MlAs came on a day when the Assembly was to begin a debate on the State Budget which was presented by Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar on Saturday last.
Soon after the suspension of 19 of its MlAs, the Opposition staged a walk out from the House. later in the day, the Opposition leaders, belonging to the Congress, NCP, Samajwadi Party, Peasants and Workers’ Party, People’s Republican Party and AIMIM, met Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao and submitted a memorandum, seeking a direction to the State for revocation of the suspension of the 19 Opposition members.