Over 20 state Congress legislators meet Sonia Gandhi

A group of over 20 Congress legislators met party president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on Tuesday to raise their concerns over the working of the party and the government in Maharashtra

A group of over 20 Congress legislators met party president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on Tuesday to raise their concerns over the working of the party and the government in Maharashtra.

Sonia Gandhi speaks in Lok Sabha File Photo

A legislator present at the meeting said issues like the pending election to the position of the speaker of the assembly, step-motherly treatment in allocation of funds, and complaints against some party ministers, who it was alleged did not pay attention to the requests of Congress MLAs, were among the issues discussed. The meeting was attended by 22 legislators and Suresh (Balu) Dhanorkar, the sole Congress MP from Maharashtra in the lower house of parliament.

“We raised the issue of the pending election to the speaker’s position. Madam said she was aware of this and was in touch with the leadership in Maharashtra. Once the Supreme Court gives its ruling on the issue and when Governor BS Koshyari announces the poll, a special session of the assembly may be convened for this purpose,” the Congress MLA said. Nana Patole quit as the speaker in February 2021 after being appointed as the state Congress chief.

The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government amended the rules to allow voting by open ballot or show of hands to prevent horse trading. However, the Governor has refused to give his consent for the poll, the latest excuse being the case in the Supreme Court.

The Congress MLA said they had complained about how Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party legislators were stealing a march over them when it came to allocation of funds. Some MLAs also complained against Congress ministers not paying adequate attention to the requests by party legislators.