The State Legislative Council on Thursday witnessed uproarious scenes as the opposition parties alleged that a minister threatened a council member while replying to his query. With the irate opposition members demanding the sacking of the minister, the House was adjourned six times. The matter was finally to put to rest as House leader and revenue minister Eknath Khadse apologised to the House on behalf of the minister.
The issue was raised by NCP corporator Amarsinh Pandit over the distribution of scholarship fees to one school in Beed district. However, the discussion was turned into a tense affair as minister of state for social justice Dilip Kamble and Mr Pandit were involved in a heated exchange. During the talk, the minister addressed the NCP legislator using words that the opposition members took strong objection to. They went charging towards Mr Kamble and started raising slogans against him.
Commenting on the matter, Leader of Opposition Dhananjay Munde said, “It is a black day in the history of State Legislative Council. The way the minister threatened the opposition member was very serious. If this kind of boorish attitude continues, opposition members will not dare to ask questions. There is a need to maintain the prestige and decorum of the house.”
Veteran legislator and former chairman of the council Shivajirao Deshmukh suggested that the House leader should express apology over the incident. The statements made by the minister are also the responsibility of the entire Cabinet, he added.
The opposition members remained adamant on the apology as the House was adjourned for six times during the pandemonium. Finally, Mr Khadse arrived in the House and tendered the apology. “The incident should not have happened as the minister spoke in the heat of the moment. Both the parties should have shown restrain,” he said.
