Chief minister says the suspended MLAs had crossed the limit; also questions if the Centre’s Ujjwala and PM housing schemes are a scam as they used ‘incorrect’ data
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, deputy CM Ajit Pawar, environment minister Aaditya Thackeray and revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat
The last day of the Maharashtra Monsoon session turned out to be as action-packed as the first. While the BJP held a mock legislature on the Vidhan Bhavan premises levelling various allegations, including the ‘conspiracy’ to suspend 12 of its MLAs, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray justified the punitive action and asked the opposition party to behave.
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“Whatever is done is done. I wish they improve and behave,” he said. It is all about improving or decaying the standards of parliamentary work. It has happened from a responsible party. We did not entice them, and yet they shouted their lungs out. They crossed the limit. This isn’t healthy democracy,” said Thackeray, adding that the BJP did it despite having the winners of the best Parliamentarian award in its ranks.
‘Emergency imposed’
Earlier in the day, opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis resented the way the security was summoned to pack up the mock show. Since the media persons were stopped from telecasting the mock proceedings, the BJP moved to the media enclosure.
Fadnavis accused the government of high-handedness and imposing emergency. “This is a black chapter in the history of the house. This is murder of democracy.” At the parallel proceedings, the former CM and several other BJP leaders raised questions on the MVA government’s policies and their execution, alleged corruption and extortion from various government departments. Fadnavis said it was a '20-20 match’ for the ministers who had set a ‘revenue target’ for themselves.
Centre schemes a scam?
Commenting on Fadnavis’s claim that the empirical data (Census 2011), which the state has sought from the Centre, had 8 crore mistakes, Thackeray asked why was it then used for the schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. “Should I say these schemes are scams? How can the Centre use incorrect information?” he asked. He also questioned Fadnavis’s source of ‘unreleased’ information.
“Who gave him this information when others haven’t got it despite official requests? And when we ask for it they act like a wildfire,” he said. The resolution the MVA passed on Monday, to ask the Centre for OBC data, was the reason for the ruckus that finally culminated into the suspension of 12 BJP MLAs.
15k vacancies to be filled
The death by suicide of 24-year-old job aspirant Swapnil Lonkar has forced the government to expedite recruitment through the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC), which recommends suitable candidates for various government posts.
Deputy CM Ajit Pawar said 15,511 vacancies in A, B and C categories will be filled at the earliest. The MPSC’s structure will be expanded. “We are thinking on the lines of UPSC that has many members. We may have 11 or 13 members on the commission so that they can hold interviews of 150-180 qualified youths.” The six-member commission now has only two members.
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