Sule leads NCP-Uddhav Sena MPs' attack on Bommai government; BJP MP rejects charge

The opening day of the winter session in the Lok Sabha witnessed some heated exchanges over the Belagavi border dispute involving Maharashtra and Karnataka, with NCP MP Supriya Sule leading an NCP-Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) combined attack on the BJP-ruled Karnataka government and its CM while demanding intervention by Union home minister Amit Shah in the matter. The Shiv Sena (Uddhav) also raised the matter at the Opposition floor leaders' meeting convened by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge at his office of the Rajya Sabha LoP. During the meeting, Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi condemned the "provocative statements" made by the Karnataka CM and said her party would take up the issue in Parliament and that she had given a notice for immediate discussion of the matter in the Rajya Sabha.

When the Lok Sabha reassembled after it adjourned till 12 noon as a mark of respect for the late Mulayam Singh Yadav, Sule raised the Belagavi issue. " The chief minister of our neighbouring state, Karnataka, has been speaking nonsense. A conspiracy against Maharashtra has been going on for the past 10 days. The Karnataka CM is speaking about disintegrating Maharashtra. Both states are BJP-ruled. People of Maharashtra were beaten up on Tuesday when they wanted to go to the Karnataka border. This can't be allowed... I urge Home Minister Amit Shah to speak up," Sule said.

While most BJP and Congress MPs were seen treading on a cautious note perhaps because both parties have stakes on both sides, the mandatory counter came from BJP MP from Karnataka, Shivkumar Udasi.


"Maharashtra politicians from the Opposition are habitual offenders! This is their insecurity. Since the matter is still in the Supreme Court, do not let the Opposition talk on it," he requested the Speaker.

Trinamool back in Opposition meet
The Opposition floor-leaders' meeting on Thursday witnessed the return of the Trinamool nominees, who had kept away from the Opposition floor-coordination meeting held at Kharge's office during the previous session. Representatives of about 13 like-minded Opposition parties decided to coordinate in taking up in the Houses a whole range of issues they had separately raised at the session eve's all-party meeting. They also decided to oppose two Bills -- the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amend) Bill and the Biological Diversity (Amend) Bill.