Despite retraction on Hindi, monsoon session expected to be rocky

The opposition parties have geared up to corner the government on issues ranging from corruption charges against Mahayuti leaders and irregularities in the infrastructure tender process to the government’s dilly-dallying on the promised loan waiver to farmers and the controversial Shaktipeeth Expressway

MUMBAI: Even though the Mahayuti government has taken the wind out of the opposition’s sails by scrapping the controversial decision to make Hindi a third language in primary school, the monsoon session of the state legislature is still likely to be rocky. The opposition parties have geared up to corner the government on issues ranging from corruption charges against Mahayuti leaders and irregularities in the infrastructure tender process to the government’s dilly-dallying on the promised loan waiver to farmers and the controversial Shaktipeeth Expressway.

Mumbai_June 25_ Mantralaya was renovated in four days after fire in Mumbai,India, on Monday, June 25, 2012. (Photo by Kunal Patil / Hindustan Times)

On Sunday, opposition parties boycotted the customary tea party, protesting against “government failure” on multiple fronts, including corruption, education policies, agricultural distress, the law-and-order situation and rising state debt. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray dubbed the BJP-led government “anti-Maharashtra”, citing the shifting of the International Finance Centre to Gujarat, and the flight of investment such as the Vedanta-Foxconn semiconductor project, the Tata Airbus project and a bulk drug park to the neighbouring state. “Besides, Marathis were attacked for eating non-vegetarian food, and they now are doing injustice to the Marathi language by forcing Hindi in schools,” he said at a meeting of opposition leaders.

Dubbing the Thane-Ghodbunder twin tunnels and the Bhayander-Ghodbunder elevated bridge as “ ₹3,000-crore corruption cases”, Ambadas Danve, leader of the opposition in the legislative council, reminded reporters on Sunday that these projects were scrapped after the Supreme Court rebuked the government.

The issue of the Nagpur-Goa Shaktipeeth Expressway, which is being strongly opposed by farmers, was also raised. Congress leader Satej Patil said the project would burden the state exchequer unnecessarily. “The state’s debt is expected to increase to ₹9,32,242 crore by next year,” he said. “Despite this, the government took another loan of ₹20,000 crore to complete the Shaktipeeth land acquisition process. It took this decision, disregarding the fact that the debt-to-GSDP (gross state domestic product) ratio will reach 25% in the next four years.”

The other issues expected to be raised during the monsoon session include corruption cases against Mahayuti ministers and leaders such as Sanjay Shirsat and Sandipan Bhumre (both Shiv Sena), controversies related to statements made by agriculture minister Manikrao Kokate, and irregularities in other infrastructure projects such as the Virar-Alibaug Multimodal Corridor.

CM Devendra Fadnavis, while addressing the media on the eve of the monsoon session, said that the government was not “running away” from the debate in the houses, as despite having a thumping majority, the Mahayuti believed the opposition was a vital part of the democratic set-up. “We are all prepared with enough ‘stock’,” he said.

Fadnavis took a potshot at the opposition parties, saying that their letter rejecting the invitation to the tea party had the same reasons that were listed during the last assembly session. “But the number of signatures on the letter has shrunk,” he said. “Besides, Bhaskar Jadhav, the Shiv Sena (UBT) group leader in the assembly, did not turn up for the opposition meeting.” Adding to this, deputy CM Eknath Shinde sneered that the opposition parties had turned into opposition groups and were the “tukde tukde gang” of the opposition.