Mumbai: Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Sunday boycotted the customary tea party hosted by chief minister Eknath Shinde on the eve of the state legislature session accusing the government of creating caste tension over Maratha quota and criminalisation of politics. The Opposition also alleged that the Shinde government failed to stop the suicides of the farmers and therefore, they decided to boycott the tea party.Senior Congress leader and leader of opposition (LoP) in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar convened a meeting of the opposition parties legislators at his official residence over the burning issues of the state ahead of the budget session. Congress legislative party leader Balasaheb Thorat, LoP in the Council Ambadas Danve, NCP (Sharad Pawar) MLA Anil Deshmukh, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Sunil Prabhu, Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Abu Asim Azmi and others attended the meeting.In the Opposition parties’ meeting, the legislators decided to corner the Shinde government on deteriorating law and order in the state, paper leak in the exams held for government jobs, Maratha reservation and issues pertaining to the farmers. An opposition leader, who attended the meeting, said that they would hold a protest at the staircase of the state legislature against the government from day one.Speaking with this newspaper, Mr. Danve said that the state government has given 10 per cent reservation to Marathas in haste in view of Lok Sabha election but it would not withstand in the court of law during legal scrutiny. “The ruling parties have been bluffing Maratha community members by passing the bill for 10 per cent reservation to Marathas. The central government should bring constitutional amendment and increase the quota limit in order to provide the reservation to the Maratha community,” Mr. Danve said.Mr. Wadettiwar said that Maharashtra’s politics has always been civilized, but criminality in politics has increased during the Eknath Shinde government. “Goons are openly making video reels in Mantralaya. There is a parade of 200 gangsters in Pune. Post this, drugs worth Rs 2,200 crores are found in Pune, but the government is silent on it. Gangsters are being shielded by the government that is why they are not afraid of the police. Goons are being consulted before elections,” he alleged.A four-day budget session of the Maharashtra State Legislature will commence on Monday and an interim budget for the year 2024-25 will be presented by the state government. The session will be held between February 26 and March 1, during which Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar is likely to present the vote-on-account since this is an election year.
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