Winter session of Maharashtra Legislature to begin tomorrow

MUMBAI: The winter session of Maharashtra Legislature begins tomorrow at Nagpur and is expected to witness heated scenes on issues like reinduction of Ajit Pawar into the Cabinet, corruption charges against senior ministers, the Azad Maidan violence and Bal Thackeray's make-shift memorial.

The Opposition Shiv Sena-BJP have made it clear that Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar would be on their radar over his reinduction after a white paper on irrigation was presented by the state government, which they have termed a "farce."

The 53-year-old NCP strongman had quit on September 25 in the backdrop of allegations of irregularities in awarding of irrigation contracts when he was Water Resources Minister from 1999 to 2009. He was reinducted three days ahead of the session.

"The white paper on the irrigation scam was totally an eyewash and an attempt to bail out Ajit Pawar," BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said.

Shiv Sena is bringing a no-confidence motion against the government, saying the Congress-led ruling dispensation has no right to continue as it has failed on every front.

Such a motion had come up in the Nagpur session in 1994 after 114 people from the Gowari community were killed in a stampede when they held a march towards the Vidhan Bhawan to demand inclusion in scheduled tribe community.

Issues of growing crime rate in the state, especially against women in Mumbai, and the confusion over the Thackeray memorial at Shivaji Park will also figure in the two-week long session.

The state government is expected to table 11 bills in the winter session. The Anti-Superstition Bill, the Private School and Regulation of Fees Bill and the proposed second amendment to the Gram Panchayat Act are some of the major bills expected to be discussed and passed, an official said.

BJP has planned a "gherao" of the Vidhan Bhavan to highlight "the people's anger against price rise, corruption, government's apathy towards farmers' suicides, false assurances regarding zero load-shedding and FDI in retail."