Maharashtra assembly sees din over right to reply; Sena (UBT) MLA accuses Speaker of bias

Mumbai, Jul 17 (PTI) Members of the ruling coalition partner Shiv Sena and the opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) faced off in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Thursday, leading to uproar and ten-minute adjournment of the house.

The uproar began soon after Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena, completed his reply to a debate under Rule 293 of the assembly on issues related to housing and urban development, portfolios held by him.

This rule allows for the raising of issues and a discussion on matters of public interest.

As Shinde finished his response, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Bhaskar Jadhav stood up from his seat and demanded from the Speaker that he be allowed to exercise his right to reply to the government's response.

However, Speaker Rahul Narwekar maintained the right to reply is allowed only to the member who has initiated the discussion and that MLA (in this case Shiv Sena-UBT's Aaditya Thackeray) was not present in the house at that moment.

Jadhav was critical of the Chair, to which Shiv Sena members vociferously objected. In the uproar that followed, Narwekar adjourned the house for ten minutes.

Soon after the house reassembled, cabinet minister Shambhuraj Desai (Shiv Sena) took objection to the conduct of Jadhav and Thackeray, accusing them of gesturing towards the Chair and also ruling benches.

Deputy CM Shinde maintained Jadhav had dared the Chair to suspend him and added that such a behaviour was not acceptable.

Ajay Chaudhari (Shiv Sena-UBT) argued that the member (Thackeray) who initiated the debate had some work and hence he stepped out of the house.

"Another member can be allowed to speak. The right to reply is a right of the opposition," he insisted.

Speaker Narwekar noted that insulting the Chair amount to denigrating the entire house.

"I have asked Bhaskar Jadhav to elaborate how I am conducting the house proceedings without adhering to rules," he said.

The Speaker asserted he would still allow Thackeray to exercise the right to reply, but the member should be present in the house.

Later, talking to reporters in the Vidhan Bhavan premises, Jadhav alleged Narwekar acted in a biased manner by denying him the right of reply to Shinde's response in the house.

The Deputy Chief Minister was expected to address all issues raised by legislators over the past few days, but instead he chose to speak only on matters related to Mumbai, contended the Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA.

"It is clear Speaker Narwekar is running the house proceedings in a biased manner and he is not protecting our rights. He acts like he is also a part of the state government," Jadhav alleged.

"Several issues had been raised in the assembly, including civic problems in Thane, Parbhani, issues related to education, anganwadis (child care centres), water supply and sanitation, among others. None of these were touched upon in Shinde's response," he averred.

Jadhav said after Shinde concluded his speech, which he described as "an outright lie and falsehood," he stood up from his seat and requested Narwekar to allow him to exercise his right to reply.

"The Speaker refused me that right," Jadhav said, terming the move undemocratic.

"The opposition has a right to respond when the government gives unsatisfactory answers. But Speaker Narwekar did not permit me to speak, which goes against the principles of fair debate," Jadhav stated.

The former minister went on to allege that the Speaker no longer sees himself as a neutral authority in the house.

"Narwekar considers himself a part of the government and not the custodian of the rights of all members. His conduct is clearly tilted in favour of the ruling side, and he is not ensuring equal opportunity for both sides to present their views," Jadhav alleged. PTI MR ND RSY