NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad suspended from Maharashtra Assembly; Opposition walks out

NAGPUR: The Opposition today staged a walk out from the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly to protest the suspension of NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad for the rest of the winter session after he allegedly made derogatory remarks against a BJP minister.

Awhad was suspended till end of the session on his remarks against Housing and Labour Minister Prakash Mehta when the latter objected to the commotion created in the House on the issue of observing Nathuram Godse's birth anniversary as 'Shaurya Diwas' on November 15 in Maharashtra.

Earlier, the trouble began after Opposition benches drew the attention of the House over the issue of 'Shaurya Diwas' to which Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis gave an assurance that the state government would not allow such things to happen and action will be taken against the organisers.

Even then, when the furore continued, Mehta got up from his seat and objected to the protests over the Godse function irking Awhad, who had raised the issue.

Entering the Well of the House amid protests, Awhad uttered objectionable remarks against Mehta evoking sharp reaction from the treasury benches and the ruling combine.

Eventually, din prevailed in the House with members protesting Awhad's suspension shouting slogans, resulting in two consecutive adjournments of 10 and 15 minutes each.

When the House reassembled, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Girish Bapat read out a resolution on suspending Awhad for the rest of the winter session, drawing criticism from Opposition (Congress-NCP) which decided to boycott the proceedings until the suspension is revoked.

Earlier, NCP leader Ajit Pawar opposing the suspension said the ruling combine was behaving in an arbitrary manner since it enjoyed majority in the House.

He then led the Congress-NCP walkout from the House, with Chhagan Bhujbal (accompanied by Congress deputy leader Vijay Wadettiwar) declaring that the boycott will continue till the suspension is revoked.