Uddhav pushes for immediate appointment of LoPs before winter session ends

Thackeray met assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar and Legislative council chairman Ram Shinde and submitted a memorandum urging immediate action.

NAGPUR: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday demanded that the Leaders of the Opposition (LoPs) in both Houses of the Maharashtra legislature be appointed before the winter session concludes on Sunday, calling the delay “unprecedented” and “damaging to democratic functioning.”

Uddhav Thackeray arrived in Nagpur on Thursday for the week-long session. (ANI)

Thackeray, who arrived in Nagpur on Thursday for the week-long session, met assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar and Legislative council chairman Ram Shinde and submitted a memorandum urging immediate action. “We requested the Speaker and the Chairman to announce the Leaders of the Opposition by tomorrow or the day after. They assured us that a decision will be taken soon,” he told reporters.

Expressing frustration over the prolonged stalemate, Thackeray cited past instances where governments had extended the LoP position even when the opposition lacked the requisite numbers. “When the AAP government was in power in Delhi, the BJP was given the LoP post despite having only three MLAs out of 70. They accepted it. Why is Maharashtra unable to take a decision?” he said.

Terming this the first session in the state’s history without LoPs in both the Assembly and the Council, Thackeray said the opposition had already submitted the names of its nominees. “For the Assembly, we have nominated Bhaskar Jadhav. For the council, the Congress has recommended Satej Patil. Only the opposition can choose its LoPs, the ruling Mahayuti cannot decide this for us,” he insisted.

Thackeray emphasised that the LoP is a constitutionally significant post that enables structured engagement with the administration. “A Leader of the Opposition is essential to raise people’s issues, interact with officials with authority, and seek information. It is necessary to keep democracy alive,” he said.

Turning to the renewed debate over a separate Vidarbha state, Thackeray rejected the idea outright. “Vidarbha is an inseparable part of Maharashtra. Maharashtra belongs to Vidarbha and Vidarbha belongs to Maharashtra. There cannot be a division,” he said, demanding that the government state its position clearly following remarks by BJP leaders Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Sudhir Mungantiwar suggesting that a separate state remained part of their political agenda.

He also attacked senior central leaders, saying the prime minister, home minister and defence minister were “not of India but of the BJP,” accusing them of failing to address pressing issues in the state.

Thackeray further alleged that despite the session being held in Nagpur, the state’s second capital, the government had not moved on long-pending development commitments for Vidarbha. “The winter session is held here to push progress in the region, but the government has done nothing so far,” he said.