BJP MLAs suspended over misconduct in Maharashtra assembly reach Raj Bhavan
Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis said the proposal to suspend the legislators were passed by the ruling parties to decrease the number of opposition MLAs in the assembly
The BJP legislators, who were earlier in the day suspended for a year for “misbehaving” with the presiding officer of the assembly, have reached Raj Bhavan to meet governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari in Mumbai, news agency ANI reported. The 12 MLAs were suspended by Bhaskar Jadhav on the first day of the Maharashtra assembly’s monsoon session. Following that, the ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) said that disciplinary action would be taken against them. The legislators, including Atul Bhatkalkar, Sanjay Kute, Narayan Kuche, Jaykumar Gore, Bunty Bangadiya, Ashish Shelar, Yogesh Sagar, Abhimanyu Pawar, Harish Pimple, Parag Alavani, Girish Mahajan and Ram Satpute, were suspended for their misconduct and use of abusive languages against Jadhav.
The row between the ruling MVA leaders and the opposition benches began over a resolution passed to seek empirical data from the central government for a political reservation to Other Backward Classes (OBC) in local body polls. It was passed amid chaos in the assembly, following which some BJP legislators reached up to the chair of Jadhav and tried to snatch the microphone and the mace while the Speaker was presiding over the proceedings.
After this, the 12 BJP MLAs reportedly used abusive language against Jadhav at the deputy speaker’s cabin. “I have never seen such a behaviour in my entire legislative career of 36 years,” Jadhav said, adding that Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis did not help when the Speaker asked him to calm his MLAs down.
Fadnavis though admitted that the legislators did use objectionable language against the presiding officer, he also said that he apologised to Jadhav for their behaviour. Fadnavis also claimed that the ruling parties used the incident to decrease the number of Opposition MLAs in the Assembly. “The brawl started only after Shiv Sena legislators reached the cabin,” the former chief minister of Maharashtra said.
State parliamentary affairs minister Anil Parab moved the proposal to suspend the 12 BJP legislators, which was later passed through a voice vote by the ruling parties.