Maha session to begin tomorrow: Govt to face Oppn on agrarian crisis, ‘tainted’ mins

The Monsoon session of Maharashtra Legislature beginning here tomorrow, is likely to see opposition Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) training guns on "tainted" ministers in the Devendra Fadnavis Cabinet.

The session comes in the backdrop of resignation by then Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse after a string of allegations against him, including one regarding 'illegal' purchase of MIDC land in Pune.

The BJP-led government will miss Khadse's presence in Legislative Council, as being Leader of the House in Council then, Khadse managed to keep the opposition in check in the Upper House, with his experience, a Congress leader said.

The presence of aggressive Congress MLC and former Chief Minister Narayan Rane in the Council will add to the government's woes in the Upper House. It will also have to deal with Leader of Opposition in the Council, Dhananjay Munde, who was re-elected to the post recently.

The government will also have to face the opposition onslaught on issues of agrarian crisis, including relief measures during the recent drought in many parts of the state. Senior Congress and NCP leaders held a joint meeting recently, where leaders from both parties chalked out a strategy to raise various issues, including that of the "tainted" ministers, during the three-week long session.

"Whenever the issue of corruption came up, BJP always took the high moral ground. So I was surprised when (Chief Minister) Fadnavis inducted corrupt faces in his Cabinet. Most of the inducted ministers are facing grave corruption charges. BJP claims it is a party with a difference. But the induction of tainted ministers has exposed them," NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said.

It will be difficult for the government to explain why was a leader of Khadse's stature asked to resign merely on the basis of allegations, he said. Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil alleged that Fadnavis was protecting corrupt ministers. "How will people get justice from these tainted ministers?" he asked.