Twelve BJP MLAs were suspended from the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for one year after the state government accused them of "misbehaving" with presiding officer Bhaskar Jadhav in the Speaker's chamber on Monday.
The motion to suspend the MLAs was moved by state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anil Parab and passed by a voice vote.
The 12 suspended members are- Sanjay Kute, Ashish Shelar, Abhimanyu Pawar, Girish Mahajan, Atul Bhatkhalkar, Parag Alavani, Harish Pimpale, Yogesh Sagar, Jay Kumar Rawat, Narayan kuche, Ram Satpute and Bunty Bhangdia.
During the period of suspension, the 12 legislators will not be allowed to enter the Legislature premises in Mumbai and Nagpur.
Objecting to the decision, BJP members, led by Devendra Fadnavis, said the opposition would boycott the House proceedings.
"This is a false allegation and an attempt to reduce the numbers of opposition benches, because we exposed the government's falsehood on the OBC quota in local bodies," Fadnavis said.
"It was Shiv Sena MLAs who used abusive words. I brought our MLAs out of the Speaker's chamber," said Fadnavis.
NCP leader and minister Nawab Malik alleged that the BJP members had "gheraoed" Jadhav in the Speaker's chamber and used abusive words.
He claimed that Fadnavis also broke his own mike.
"Today is a black day for me. Abusive words were directed at me. Some people are saying I made uncharitable remarks. Let there be a probe into it after checking the CCTV footage. If I have used any inappropriate language, I am ready to face any punishment," Jadhav said.
With inputs from PTI.
