The revocation of suspensions of Shiv Sena MLA Omraje Nimbalkar and Pravin Darekar of MNS Wednesday is not the first such instance. Members of the Maharashtra legislature have been getting away with minor punishments,no matter how grave their misconduct in the House. This is especially true after the Congress-NCP alliance came to power in 1999. Only 14 of the 93 MLAs suspended since 1999 for reasons including a suicide bid in the well of the House,assault on other members and abuse of the Speaker have served full suspensions. The remaining were pardoned within a few days. An MLA can be suspended if she or he disregards the authority of the Chair or flouts rules by persistently obstructing House business. The punishment can range from suspension for a day to cancellation of membership. However,Forward Bloc legislator Jambuwantrao Dhote is the only one to lose membership so far,for throwing a paperweight while being escorted out of the House by the security staff in 1964. Nimbalkar and Darekar,both suspended for a year,were pardoned after the Opposition stalled the legislature for almost a week. Several other members have also been similarly let off. Data reveal 121 (59 per cent) of the 290 MLAs suspended since 1964 served full punishment. Since 1999,79 (82 per cent) of the 96 legislators suspended have been granted early relief. Between 1960 and 1999,44 (21 per cent) of 196 suspensions were revoked. The most,88,MLAs suspended so far belong to Shiv Sena,while only three NCP members have been punished. Anil Bairwal,National Coordinator of Association for Democratic Reforms,said: There is a serious lack of transparency. Nobody knows why some members are suspended and why suspensions are revoked. On many occasions,neutrality of the Speaker,who generally hails from the ruling party,is suspect. Our legislators need to learn to behave in the Assembly.
