Taking its new role as an ‘Opposition party’ seriously after its recent break-up with its NDA ally, the BJP, in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena on Monday raised issues relating to farmers in the State in the Lok Sabha, staged protest inside Parliament premises and sought the ‘Bharat Ratna’ for social reformer Jyotiba Phule.
RSP MP Premchandran raised the death of an IIT-Chennai Girl-student in a suspicious circumstances and sought a judicial inquiry into it as he said name of professor was doing round for humiliating her.
While Congress-led opposition protested against the detention of the house member Farooq Abdullah in J&K, members of the Shiv Sena, the oldest ally of the BJP which has snapped its ties with the ruling party, also raised slogans and demanded relief for farmers in Maharahtra and later walked out of the House. Shiv Sena members were seen sitting in the opposition benches after their party broke ties with the BJP with one of its member in the Modi-Cabinet already putting-in his papers.
One of the Shiv Sena MPs during the zero hour sought ‘Bharat Ratna’ for famous social reformer Jyotiba Phule who had worked for the upliftment of dalits and did pioneering work for the girl education.
Shiv Sena MPs also protested inside the Parliament premises demanding that the Government declare unseasonal rains in Maharashtra as natural calamity. MPs Sanjay Raut, Arvind Sawant and others were present at the protest which comes on the first day of the Parliament’s Winter Session, which will end on December 13.
Unseasonal rains in Maharashtra have damaged crops on 70 lakh hectares of land, State Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar had said a couple of days earlier.
According to Government officials, the loss could be to the tune of over Rs 5,000 crore across 30 of the state’s 36 districts.
Navneet Rana , an Independent MP from Maharashtra, however, went hammer and tong against Sena for what she said giving ‘ lip sympathy’ to farmers while not allowing a stable Government in the state.
Four members -- Prince Raj (LJP), Himadri Singh (BJP), Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil (NCP) and D M Kathir Anand (DMK) -- took oath as Lok Sabha commenced its proceedings for the day . The House paid tributes to 10 members, including from the Rajya Sabha, who passed away recently.
They included former Union ministers Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and Ram Jethmalani. The House also stood in silence as a mark of respect for the departed souls.