MUMBAI: The Opposition’s aggressive stand on the Nanar refinery forced yet another adjournment of the state Assembly during the ongoing monsoon session in Nagpur on Thursday.
The Congress and the Shiv Sena appeared to be engaged in a contest to show who opposed the refinery project more aggressively.
The leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, had given notices for two adjournment motions over the issue, alleging that the government was acquiring land for the project on the basis of fake consent letters.
However, when he started speaking, Shiv Sena members started shouting slogans demanding cancellation of the project.
The question hour was completed but the slogans didn’t subside. The speaker and the treasury benches tried to push through the business amid the din. However, the speaker had to adjourn the house several times before adjourning it for the day.
Vikhe-Patil said that he had gathered documentary evidence on how land was being acquired using fake documents. He demanded that all other business be cancelled and the project be debated. However, the government remained non-committal, and the Opposition hardened its stand.
Vikhe-Patil alleged that in one case, fake documents had been prepared in the name of a person who, according to police records, had been “lost” for more than 20 years.
“Our adjournment motion had a provision for voting. But, though Shiv Sena is pretending to oppose the project, it doesn’t want to defeat the government in the house over the issue, which is why they resorted to slogans and forced the house to be adjourned,” Vikhe-Patil told media persons.This was the second consecutive day when business couldn’t be carried out in the Assembly due to the Nanar issue.
Row over plan to distribute Gita in Mumbai colleges
The government has decided to distribute Bhagavad Gita copies in Mumbai colleges that have achieved A or A+ grades in NAAC accreditation. “This is an attempt at saffronization of education,” said Kapil Patil of Lok Bharti party. Education minister Vinod Tawde said the books were being distributed by a charitable trust and not the government.