MVA boycotts legislative council, moves no-confidence motion against chair Ram Shinde

Opposition leaders also announced that they would attend council proceedings on Thursday wearing black ribbons as a mark of protest and boycott the proceedings if and when deputy chair Neelam Gorhe presides over the House

Mumbai: The Maharashtra legislative council was adjourned twice on Wednesday as the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) created a ruckus over a confidence motion passed by the ruling Mahayuti in favour of deputy chairperson Neelam Gorhe, who has been targeted by the Opposition over her controversial remarks against Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray.

Ram Shinde, minister of state for water conservation. HT Photo

Alleging that the confidence motion was passed by sidelining the rules, MVA members boycotted the Upper House of the state legislature and moved a no-confidence motion against council chair Ram Shinde, accusing him of being partisan. They also announced that they would attend council proceedings on Thursday wearing black ribbons as a mark of protest and boycott the proceedings if and when Gorhe presides over the House.

The Opposition had on Tuesday sought to move a no-trust motion against Gorhe following her allegations that top positions in the Shiv Sena (UBT) were given to those who gifted two Mercedes cars to the Thackeray family. However, council chairperson Shinde turned down the motion, saying the MVA had not given any specific reason for it.

On Wednesday, BJP legislator Pravin Darekar moved a confidence motion in favour of Gorhe. Shinde then asked if the Opposition wanted a poll on the matter, following which Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Anil Parab tried to oppose the motion. Meanwhile, Shinde read out the motion and declared that it was passed with a majority.

Parab and Congress MLC Bhai Jagtap objected to this and said the Opposition should have been given the opportunity to speak on the issue. As both sides engaged in a heated debate, Shinde adjourned the House for 15 minutes.

Later, when the House resumed proceedings, MVA members again raised their voices against the confidence motion and created a ruckus even as chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was replying to calling-attention motions. Eventually, presiding officer Chitra Wagh adjourned the house again for 10 minutes.

When the House resumed, Parab alleged that the government was sidelining the rules. “There are rules and regulations for moving confidence and no-confidence motions, but they were ignored and the Opposition was not allowed to speak. Under which rule was the motion moved and passed?” he said.

Jagtap added that the day would be remembered as a “black day” in the history of the legislative council, as democratic traditions and the rules of the house were sidelined by the government.

Leader of the Opposition in the council, Ambadas Danve, also waded in, saying, “The chairperson of the council is supposed to treat everyone as equal, but he worked like the office bearer of his party. The government has become arrogant with its huge mandate and is misusing that power. I want the presiding officer to give a ruling over it.”

However, presiding officer Wagh turned down the demand, saying she couldn’t do so as the chairperson had already completed the proceedings on the issue. Enraged MVA lawmakers then started chanting slogans against the state government and the presiding officers before boycotting the council for the day.

Later, following a meeting, MVA legislators decided to move a no-confidence motion against Shinde for not following the rules while running the House. Fifteen MVA members wrote a letter to the secretariate of the state legislature stating that Shinde was running the House with a “biased attitude” and taking one-sided decisions.

“The House is not running as per the rules. As the rights of Opposition parties and the leader of the Opposition were denied, Ram Shinde has lost the confidence of the house. So, he should be removed from the post of chairperson,” the letter said. The signatories included Shiv Sena (UBT) members like Danve, Parab, Sunil Shinde, and Sachin Ahir; the Congress’s Bhai Jagtap, Abhijit Wanjari, and Pradnya Satav; and NCP (SP) members Shashikant Shinde, and Eknath Khadse.

As per the rules, a no-confidence motion cannot be discussed for 14 days after it’s moved. With the state legislature’s budget session ending on March 26, the motion against Shinde will not be discussed in this session. Besides, the current strength of the ruling Mahayuti alliance in the council is 32, compared with the MVA’s 20. So, even if it comes up for discussion, it’s highly unlikely that the no-confidence motion will be passed.

Parab later told reporters that MVA members would attend the council on Thursday with black ribbons “to protest the working style” of Shinde, adding that they would boycott proceedings if Gorhe came to preside over the House.