MP’s demand sparks fury in Houses

BJP MLAs shout pro-Vidarbha slogans while Shiv Sena MLAs condemn them. (Photo: Rajesh Jadhav)

BJP MP Nana Patole demanded statehood for Vidarbha in Parliament, which infuriated Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP leaders in the state Legislature. Mr Patole moved a private member proposal in the Lok Sabha demanding a separate Vidarbha on Friday.

BJP MLAs also raised the controversial issue, after which both Houses of the legislature had to be adjourned owing to the ensuing chaos. Shiv Sena MLAs condemned the BJP for making the demand in Parliament, and the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supported the former when they told pro-Vidarbha MLAs to resign and go back to the region. The Assembly was adjourned twice over the issue.

Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil raised the subject, stating that a BJP MP had tabled a private member’s bill in Parliament that suggested that the state be divided. “We condemn this bill. The BJP-led government should clear its stand on a separate Vidarbha,” he said.

NCP leader Ajit Pawar spoke out in support of Mr Vikhe-Patil. “We work for a united Maharashtra though we have been elected from various parts of it. How can the ruling party introduce a resolution to divide the state Is this what the BJP government is willing to do An MLA or MP does not speak without consulting his party’s leadership,” Mr Pawar said.

The NCP leader further provoked the Shiv Sena, whose opposition to statehood for Vidarbha is well known, and asked it to speak up on the issue. “The Shiv Sena has supported the government, but its stand on the issue is very clear. The Sena should speak up on the issue,” he said. However, this created pandemonium in the House as MLAs of all parties started shouting slogans against and in favour of Vidarbha.

Shiv Sena leader Sunil Prabhu condemned the BJP MP’s actions and asked pro-Vidarbha MLAs to ‘go back’. “I condemn the BJP’s resolution. The party is ignoring the sacrifice made by the 105 martyrs who laid their lives for a united Maharashtra. This is ruining Maharashtra’s respectability and pride. We will always be in favour of a united Maharashtra. Vidarbha MLAs should resign and leave Maharashtra,” Mr Prabhu said. Congress and NCP leaders showed that they backed the Sena MLA’s statement by clapping and thumping their benches.

Earlier, Opposition leader in the Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde and Shiv Sena MLC Neelam Gorhe raised the issue via a ‘point of propriety’ to a private member proposal moved by the BJP MP in the Lok Sabha. The Opposition as well as the Sena wanted the government to clarify whether or not it agreed with Mr Patole’s proposal.

Mr Munde, while raising the issue, said, “Hundred and five martyrs laid down their lives for a united Maharashtra. In the last few months, people like (former attorney general) Shreehari Aney have not only been demanding a separate Vidarbha but also a separate Marathwada. This is very serious. The government needs to clarify whether it supports its MP’s stand.”

Ms Gorhe said that the Legislature needed to unanimously pass a resolution on a united Maharashtra. “A four-line unanimous resolution is all we need to reassure the people of the state,” she said. Congress and NCP legislators supported her by thumping their benches. “Dilly dallying over the issue is not good for a united Maharashtra. We cannot forget the martyrdom of those who wanted Maharashtra to remain as one,” she said. Senior Congress leader Narayan Rane said that had the bill been an Independent MP’s, one could have understood; but a BJP MP could not have introduced such a bill without seeking opinions from the party’s national and state leaders.

Opposition members insisted they would not take interest in any business until the government made a statement on Mr Patole’s proposal. As the commotion did not subside even after a 10-minute adjournment, chairman Ramraje Naik-Nimbalkar adjourned the House for the day.