On Sunday, December 13, the opposition party in the state boycotted the customary tea meeting with the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, citing its failure on all fronts and being egoistic and arrogant.
Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Devendra Fadnavis accused the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government of running away from a debate on its failures on all fronts. He also claimed that undeclared emergency exist in Maharashtra and those speaking against government are being jailed.
Addressing a press conference on the eve of the two-day winter session of the state Assembly, Fadnavis claimed it is "actually a one-day session which includes only six hours for the passage of supplementary demands".
The brief session, curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is being held against the backdrop of the MVA government completing a year in office and its encouraging performance in the just held elections to half-a-dozen seats of the Legislative Council. Fadnavis claimed that the corruption in Maharashtra amidst the COVID-19 pandemic was quite depressing.
Fadnavis said the government refused the opposition's demand to hold the winter session for two weeks and also refused to announce that the budget session next year would be held in Nagpur.
The government has failed on all fronts, including handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, helping farmers affected due to cyclone, heavy rains and floods. The farmers' Diwali festival (this year) was in darkness. The coronavirus infection is on a decline in rest of the country, except Maharashtra, he claimed. The COVID-19 death toll in Maharashtra has crossed 48,000, which accounts for 35 to 40 per cent of the national tally, the former state chief minister said.
Fadnavis further said the Shakti Act, to curb violence against women and children, should be debated thoroughly. "I don't know if there is enough time in the two-day session. We want the Shakti Act to be effective and it needs a comprehensive debate. The bill should be sent to a joint select committee of state legislature," Fadnavis said.
Fadnavis cited the MVA government’s decision to shift the Metro 3 car shed to Kanjurmarg from Aarey Colony was taken out of ego and it would delay the commissioning of the Metro corridor by four years.
Opposition parties also blamed the state government for the Supreme Court’s stay on Maratha quota.
Responding to the allegations, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said that if this were truly the case, the Mahavikas Aghadi wouldn't have won the recent graduate constituency elections in a big manner. There is no disappointment visible among the public. On being asked about Devendra Fadnavis' allegations of a possible arrest of opposition leader Pravin Darekar, Ajit Pawar rubbished such comments as baseless.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray also reiterated his charge that the central agencies were being used against Aghadi leaders by claiming the agencies were being utilised like domestic servants of the regime.
It seems that BJP and the MVA would have a clash over several issues in the current session that starts on December 14. The BJP has already said that the bill for the crime against women, Shakti, be not taken up this session as it has not been discussed well they allege.
On the other hand, MVA is firm on its decision to pass the bill in the present session itself. The opposition is also expected to rake up the issue of waiver of lockdown electricity bills, while the government is expected to attack them over the handling of the farmer protests.
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