Mumbai: Two-week winter session of the Maharashtra Legislature starting from December 19 at Nagpur is expected to be a stormy affair.
The opposition is resolved to corner the Shinde Fadnavis government on the flight of key projects out of Maharashtra, insult of great men and icons of Maharashtra by Governor and BJP leaders, growing farmers’ distress, stay on a slew of decisions and projects initiated by the MVA government and above all Karnataka’s move to escalate the border issue.
Issues to be raised by the opposition
The opposition has also decided to take on the Shinde Fadnavis government on its decision to cancel the award given to the Marathi translation of communist activist Kobad Ghandy's book Fractured Freedom: Prison Memories and Thoughts. The NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray have already accused the state government of an undeclared emergency saying that the decision was fatal to the freedom of expression and to democracy.
On its part, the Shinde Fadnavis government proposes to target the MVA government over slow pace of industry development, alleged scam in BMC and insult by MVA leaders of Hindu gods and goddesses. The Shinde Fadnavis government has proposed to release a white paper on the projects that the state lost during the MVA government and the present status of Rs 6.5 lakh investment proposals that the previous government has claimed.
The winter session is being held in Nagpur, which is the second capital of Maharashtra, after three years due to the pandemic. The opposition, which put up a show of unity and strength at the Halla Bol morcha on Saturday in Mumbai, proposes to show similar unity to target the Shinde Fadnavis government.
Even though the state government has announced hike in the financial relief to the farmers hit by the retreating rains and floods, the leader of opposition in the state assembly Mr Ajit Pawar has announced that the opposition will expose lapses in the disbursement of financial aid for the farmers affected by rains and water logging during June-October. Mr Pawar claimed that the state government cannot pass the buck on the MVA government for the loss of the $20 billion Vedanta-Foxconn project, the Rs 22,000 crore Tata Airbus and other projects as the responsibility lies with it.
Notwithstanding the union home minister’s intervention for a truce between Maharashtra and Karnataka over the border issue, the opposition plans to step up attacks against the Shinde Fadnavis government for being indecisive when BJP led government in Karnataka is allegedly involved in the escalation of border issue.
However, Chief Minister Mr Eknath Shinde said the government is prepared to reply to the opposition's tirade as it has been a performing government and taken a slew of decisions for the state’s progress.
