NAGPUR: Leaders of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Friday boycotted the proceedings of both Houses of the Maharashtra legislature, and protested against the state government at the Vidhan Bhavan complex here, accusing it of not letting them speak in the Assembly and the Council.
The leaders of the MVA, comprising the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray-led faction and Congress, also condemned the suspension of senior NCP leader Jayant Patil for alleged derogatory remark against the Assembly Speaker on Thursday.
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Ajit Pawar, Sena (UBT) leaders Aaditya Thackeray and Bhaskar Jadhav, Congress's Balasaheb Thorat, NCP leaders Rajesh Tope, Dhananjay Munde, Dilip Walse Patil and others were seen sporting black ribbons to protest against the Eknath Shinde-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
They held the protest by sitting on the steps of the legislature complex.
A senior Congress leader said, "We are boycotting the proceedings of both the Houses to protest against the government which is not letting the members of the opposition speak in the legislature."
Aaditya Thackeray said, "Unless and until the speaker gives us assurance that the opposition members will get an opportunity to speak, we will stay out. We want to raise the issues of Governor B S Koshyari's remarks against iconic personalities, CM Shinde's involvement in land allotment scam and the Maharashtra-Karnataka border issue."
The opposition legislators raised slogans against the Shinde-Fadnavis government on these issues. When asked about his name being linked to the death case of Disha Salian, a former manager of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, Thackeray said it was a "conspiracy" to malign him.
According to police, Salian (28) allegedly committed suicide by jumping from a high-rise in Malad area of Mumbai on June 8, 2020.
Rajput, 34, was found hanging at his apartment in Mumbai's Bandra area on June 14, 2020. Talking to reporters, Thackeray said, "My (maternal) grandfather died on the same day. All I can say is that the government is scared of a 32-year-old youth. We will continue to raise the issue of Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) land allotment case and demand the resignation of the chief minister. I am ashamed that these people were once with us."
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, had announced in the Assembly on Thursday that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) will be formed to conduct a probe into the death of Salian.
The winter session of the state legislature, which began on Monday, is scheduled to end on December 30.