The Monsoon Session of the Maharashtra legislature will begin on Monday, the first gathering since the Ajit Pawar camp broke NCP to join the NDA Government. The three-week session will be held till August 4 at Vidhan Bhavan Complex at Nariman Point.
The session will see a comprehensive agenda, featuring a total of 24 proposed bills. While 10 bills have already received approval from the Cabinet, the remaining 14 await endorsement before being presented for consideration, reported ANI.
Meanwhile, NCP (Sharad Pawar camp) chief whip Jitendra Awhad has written to the Maharashtra Assembly speaker seeking separate sitting arrangements for members of the Ajit Pawar camp and the rest of MLAs.
Awhad said in the letter addressed to Speaker Rahul Narwekar that the Nationalist Congress Party is part of the opposition, except for the nine MLAs, including Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. "Except for the nine MLAs who were sworn in, the sitting arrangement for others should be made separately. The NCP is in the opposition and we want to sit in the opposition," Awhad wrote in the letter.
Awhad's letter comes as the Speaker recently said there was no clear distinction yet between who is in power and who is not in the case of the Nationalist Congress Party. "There will be a lot of deliberations and arguments over how to decide who represents the actual NCP, Narwekar said.
The NCP had 53 MLAs in the 288-member Assembly before the split and as per Ajit Pawar faction, they have the support of 35 MLAs of NCP and five of the eight MLCs.
A customary tea party was hosted by the Maharashtra government on the eve of the state legislature's monsoon session which was boycotted by the Opposition camp, including Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and the NCP (Sharad Pawar group). The tea party was attended by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis, and other Cabinet colleagues, including newly-inducted Deputy CM Ajit Pawar of NCP and ministers from his camp.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who held a joint press conference with CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, said the government will not misuse its current position in the State Assembly even though the numbers of the alliance have increased in the House.
"Maharashtra legislature Monsoon session starts from tomorrow. We will discuss all the issues during the session. Even though our strength has increased we will make sure that we do not misuse it and address all the issues related to the welfare of the people that will be raised by the opposition," ANI quoted Fadnavis. He added that government will address all issues related to the welfare of the people which will be raised by the opposition.