The controversy over Ajit Pawar’s remark mocking the farmers reeling under a severe drought in Maharashtra assumed a new dimension on Tuesday, with a belligerent Opposition seeking to table a censure motion against the deputy Chief Minister and mounting simultaneously pressure on Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to sack his deputy from the State Cabinet.
With no let up the immense pressure brought to bear on Ajitdada — as the Ajit Pawar is known in the state political circles — to resign from his post, the BJP-led Opposition switched gears by targeting the Chief Minister and rooting for the ouster of his deputy for his most insensitive “urine” and “making babies during load-shedding hours” remarks.
On a day when the Opposition attempted hard to move a censure motion against Ajitdada for his much-discussed twin remarks, the Opposition forced two noisy adjournments in the Assembly, before a helpless Speaker Dilip Walse Patil adjourned the House for the day.
Excepting the adoption of a condolence resolution over the recent demise of former MlA Dattreya Metkar, no other business scheduled for the day could b transacted owing the continued Opposition for clamour Ajitdada’s resignation.
The situation was no different in the Upper House, where leader of the Opposition Vinod Tawde of the BJP, Diwakar Raote (Shiv Sena) and senior PWP member Jayant Patil vociferously demanded Ajitdada’s resignation.
Raising the controversial issue in the Assembly, leader of the Opposition Eknath Khadse said that the Opposition would not settle down unless the chief minister made a statement on Ajitdada’s “most objectionable” statement and sacked him from the State Cabinet forthwith.
“Chief Minister must make a statement in the floor of the House. He should apologise for the statement by the Minister, he should ask Ajit Pawar to resign or sack him,” Khadse said that the DCM’s reckless “urine” statement would have a direct bearing on the law and order situation in the state.
Khadse charged that the DCM, through his “sensitive” comment had not only mocked the drought-hit people in the state, but the latter had also lowered the stature of a progressive state like Mahartashtra.
As several Opposition members, including the Shiv Sena’s group leader Subhash Desai (Shiv Sena), sought to table a censure motion against Ajitdada, saying that the DCM’s comments were most derogatory, hurt the sentiments of the drought-affected farmers and he deserved to be condemned to be condemned by the House.
Senior BJP member and party’s State unit president Sudhir Mungantiwar and others supported the notice sought to be moved by Desai.
However, the aggressive ruling NCP members Jitendra Awhad and Shashikant Shinde, foiled the Opposition efforts in this regard. On his part, the Speaker rejected the censure notice sought to be moved by Desai, citing procedures and rules of the House.