MUMBAI: Taking a dim view of the adjournment of Maharashtra Legislative Council for three days in a row, a Shiv Sena legislator today accused the BJP and NCP of having a "tactical understanding" to avoid debate in the House on corruption allegations against BJP ministers.
"The NCP's contention that they will not let the House function till the government announces a loan waiver for farmers seems to be a farce, a ploy to distract attention from other important issues," the legislator told PTI today on condition of anonymity.
"They (the opposition) want to discuss farmers' issues and so is the government. They only seem to be buying time demanding that the Chief Minister take back his words that there will be no loan waiver. This seems more of a tactical move between them (NCP and BJP) so that issues like corruption charges levelled against BJP ministers are not discussed in the House," the legislator said.
If the issues of corruption come up for discussion and Council Chairman orders an inquiry, the government will be bound to submit a report within a stipulated time which it wants to avoid, the Sena leader alleged.
Another reason for repeatedly disrupting the House proceedings could be the NCP's strategy to somehow make the Sena fall out with the government, the leader charged.
"Fifty out of the 63 Sena MLAs are from rural Maharashtra, where the issue of farmers' loans is important. These MLAs want that these issues to be immediately addressed by the government. So, when the government is not doing anything substantive on the issue, the NCP thinks it can milk the opportunity to its advantage and come into power once again," the legislator said.
The saffron allies are in sync on various points about the agrarian crisis and that the party is in no mood to pull out of the alliance, the Sena leader said.
"The opposition is doing no good to itself by not letting the House function. They will have to answer people when they go back to their constituencies. Besides, it's not even one year since the Assembly election. If they exhaust all their might at this juncture, what will they do in the run up to the upcoming election?" the legislator questioned.