Oppn urges Governor to dismiss DF Govt

In a related development, a delegation of the Congress-led Democratic Front legislators also called on Alexander urging him to take serious note of the uncalled for behaviour of the Sena-BJP members.

Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh rejected the demand, saying, at a juncture when his government has taken concrete steps to resolve their demands in letter and spirit in a time-bound period, the Sena-BJP opposition members resorted to physical assault on a section of the senior cabinet members without provocation.

“The behaviour of the Sena-BJP opposition members was a blot on parliamentary democracy. Never in the history of State Legislature, any of the members had resorted to physical assault and that too on a female cabinet member. I am condemning their behaviour,” Deshmukh said.

Deshmukh said the Sena-BJP combine had raised three demands – remuneration for cotton and onion growers, adequate security cover for Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and arrest of Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi for his alleged anti-national remarks.

“My government has taken concrete steps to resolve the demands raised by them. Remuneration to cotton and onion growers will be paid in next two days, adequate security has already been provided to Thackeray. In fact, it is at least four times more than prescribed under the Z-plus category and an offence has been registered against Azmi under the Indian Penal Code. Under the circumstances, I feel the agitation launched by the Sena-BJP combine is politically motivated,” Deshmukh said.

Expressing strong displeasure over the manner in which the Sena-BJP members blocked the entry of the council hall for two hours, Deshmukh said in a democratic setup, one has a right to agitate, but the manner in which the Sena-BJP launched the agitation, has damaged the image of the Maharashtra Legislature. “The image of the Maharashtra Legislature, which had maintained very high democratic traditions, has been affected to a great extent and it cannot be repaired,” Deshmukh pointed out.

On Sena-BJP’s threat to intensify the agitation, Deshmukh said the Congress-led Democratic Front will not be a silent spectator. “We will ensure that the statutory business before both the houses is taken up as per schedule,” he added.

On the other hand, Rane, Munde and Nitin Gadkari, described as baseless and misleading the claim of the Chief Minister on payment of remuneration to the cotton and onion growers. “Ever since the non-realisation of cheques, Deshmukh has been saying that the payment will be made within two to three days, but so far, at least Rs 950 crore to the cotton growers and Rs 90 crore to the onion growers have not been disbursed,” Rane said.

On their meeting with the Governor, Rane and Munde said they have specifically brought to the notice of Alexander that in view of the constitutional failure of the government, he should immediately dismiss the Vilasrao Deshmukh government. “We submitted a memorandum to Alexander. Simultaneously, we will meet Union Home Minister L K Advani on Thursday to press for our demand,” Rane added.

Launching a frontal attack on the government, particularly Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, Rane and Munde said it was unfortunate that at his instance, a minor offence was registered against Abu Asim Azmi. “Police have not registered an offence against him for his alleged anti-national remarks, but for creating communal hatred. We feel that this was done deliberately to help the Samajwadi Party leader,” they pointed out.

Earlier in the day, pandemonium prevailed on the entrance of the council hall, when the Sena-BJP members blocked the entry of cabinet members to press for their demands and in the process, members of both the Sena-BJP combine as well as Congress-led Democratic Front assaulted each other.

To protest against the failure of the Deshmukh government, the Sena-BJP members led by Narayan Rane, Nitin Gadkari and Prakash Jawdekar were on a Dharna near the entrance of the council hall. The trouble began when the Sena-BJP members restrained Deputy CM Chhagan Bhujbal, who was accompanied by Irrigation Minister Padamsinh Patil and Higher Education Minister Dilip Walse Patil near the main entrance.

Ignoring the agitators, Bhujbal and his cabinet colleagues, broke the cordon and entered the council hall premises. In the process, it has been alleged that at least two cabinet members Sulekha Kumbhare and Kripa Shankar Singh received minor injuries. On the other hand, Rane alleged that, anti-social elements, who accompanied by Bhujbal physically assaulted the Sena-BJP legislators.

MUMBAI: Disturbed by the unprecedented incidents that were witnessed outside the council hall premises, Legislative Assembly Speaker Arun Gujarathi will soon convene a meeting of all constituents of the Congress-led Democratic Front as well as the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance to resolve the contentious issues raised by the opposition members.

“What happened today outside the premises of the council hall is really unfortunate. Now, as a Speaker of the Assembly, I will convene a meeting of all the parties to amicably resolve the dispute,” Gujarathi told media persons.

Gujarathi said since the session will begin after a recess of five days on March 21, he will convene the meeting before the commencement of the session. “I am confident, I will be able to resolve the issue,” Gujarathi added.