Threatening to disrupt governor K Sankaranarayanan's Monday speech on the first day of the state budget session for his refusal to allow the CBI to prosecute former chief minister Ashok Chavan in the Adarsh scam, the opposition boycotted the chief minister's tea party on the eve of the session.
It has alleged that state ministers wanted to frame opposition leaders in the report of the Madhav Chitale committee, which is probing alleged irregularities in irrigation projects.
Vinod Tawade, the leader of the opposition in the legislative council, threatened that it would not allow the governor to deliver his address if he did not clarify four points: the Adarsh society scam, the state's new toll policy, local body tax (LBT) which was meant to replace the much-reviled octroi but has been opposed by traders and, lastly, corruption allegations against 16 ministers.
The BJP had already demanded Sankaranarayanan's removal for not allowing the CBI to prosecute the former chief minister. However, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said that by boycotting the governor's speech, the opposition was harming democracy. He added that the government were ready to discuss any issue. "Issues can be resolved by discussion and debate alone. We have decided to pass 12 important pending bills in the upcoming session," said Chavan, who criticised the opposition for making ludicrous charges for publicity before the Lok Sabha polls.
The opposition has alleged that it was difficult to discuss important issues in just four days.
Tawade said that though the session would be held for just four days, the opposition would put the government on the mat. He also demanded that if the Chitale committee report was to be submitted during the session, it should be discussed in the house.
Tawade lashed out at the state government for not allowing any questions or use of other legislative instruments during the session and claimed that this was an attempt by the Congress-NCP to "prevent its corruption from being exposed before the elections."
Eknath Khadse, the leader of the opposition in the legislative assembly, demanded a white paper on the Rs2.93 lakh crore loans on the state and rued that Chavan had not acted on the corruption cases that were brought to his notice. He claimed that ministers had held two "marathon meetings" with Chitale to include names of opposition leaders in the report.
MNS group leader Bala Nandgaonkar, whose party had launched a campaign against lack of transparency in toll contracts, it would question the state on its stand on toll.
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