By PTI
MUMBAI: Shiv Sena MLAs supporting Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and some opposition legislators shouted slogans against each other on the steps of the Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai on Wednesday.
The NCP MLAs carried carrots in an bid to taunt the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP coalition.
The Shinde faction MLAs tried to snatch the carrots from the NCP legislators, raising tension on the legislature building steps.
Some legislators from the two sides then intervened and diffused the tension.
Members from both sides kept shouting slogans against each other for some more time and then went into the House to attend the day’s proceedings.
The state legislature’s monsoon session will conclude on Thursday.
Shinde and 39 other Shiv Sena legislators had revolted against the party leadership in June this year, which led to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government comprising the Sena, NCP and Congress.
On June 30, Shinde was sworn in as the chief minister along with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy.
State Tribal Development Minister Vijaykumar Gavit on Wednesday said in the state Assembly that there has been no child death reported due to malnutrition in the state in the last five years.
However, members of the NCP and Congress objected to the minister’s claim.
Gavit said, “As per information shared by the state health department with my office, there is no child death reported due to malnutrition in the state.”
“There are 16 districts in the state where tribal population is identified. No district has reported death due to malnutrition in the last five years,” the minister said.
However, Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar objected to Gavit’s response saying, “It is a well-known fact that there have been cases of malnutrition in the state and many children die due to it every year.”
“In Melghat (Amravati district) alone, 18 children died between July 15 and August 15 this year,” the NCP leader claimed.
After a row over the issue, Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar asked the minister to reserve the question and produce fresh information about malnutrition.
Today’s development comes a day after the Opposition members staged a walkout in the Assembly to express their dissatisfaction with the financial assistance announced by the state government to rain-affected farmers.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had earlier announced that the state government has doubled the sum of compensation mentioned in the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) norms.
The state government will also offer assistance to farmers in places that recorded less than 65 mm rains in 24 hours, but witnessed 33 per cent loss of actual sown soil, he said.
People who lost their houses and other similar projects will also get Rs 15,000 as one-time assistance, Shinde said.
Expressing his dissatisfaction, Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar said, “The government has not announced a wet drought in the state despite witnessing excess rainfall. This is highly unfair.”
“The financial assistance announced by the Shinde government is inadequate and will be of no help to farmers. Hence, we are walking out of the House to mark our protest,” he said.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said the Maha Vikas Aghadi, his party’s coalition with the Congress and NCP, continues despite being dethroned in Maharashtra.
Talking to reporters after a meeting of MVA partners at the state legislature complex here, Thackeray said his government successfully handled the coronavirus crisis.
The current challenge before his party and the MVA was nothing in comparison to that posed by the pandemic, he said.
Thackeray visited the Vidhan Bhavan in south Mumbai for the first time on Tuesday since his resignation as chief minister on June 29 following Eknath Shinde’s rebellion.
“We (MVA partners) met after a long time and felt good. We are still together. We will tell you (soon) what we are going to do,” Thackeray said when asked if the three parties would contest the coming civic polls in Mumbai under the MVA umbrella.
Congress has been vocal about contesting the polls independently.
On the ongoing legal battle in the Supreme Court over various petitions filed by the respective Sena factions headed by him and chief minister Shinde, Thackeray said he had full faith in the judiciary.
MUMBAI: Shiv Sena MLAs supporting Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and some opposition legislators shouted slogans against each other on the steps of the Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai on Wednesday.
The NCP MLAs carried carrots in an bid to taunt the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP coalition.
The Shinde faction MLAs tried to snatch the carrots from the NCP legislators, raising tension on the legislature building steps.
Some legislators from the two sides then intervened and diffused the tension.
Members from both sides kept shouting slogans against each other for some more time and then went into the House to attend the day’s proceedings.
The state legislature’s monsoon session will conclude on Thursday.
Shinde and 39 other Shiv Sena legislators had revolted against the party leadership in June this year, which led to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government comprising the Sena, NCP and Congress.
On June 30, Shinde was sworn in as the chief minister along with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy.
State Tribal Development Minister Vijaykumar Gavit on Wednesday said in the state Assembly that there has been no child death reported due to malnutrition in the state in the last five years.
However, members of the NCP and Congress objected to the minister’s claim.
Gavit said, “As per information shared by the state health department with my office, there is no child death reported due to malnutrition in the state.”
“There are 16 districts in the state where tribal population is identified. No district has reported death due to malnutrition in the last five years,” the minister said.
However, Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar objected to Gavit’s response saying, “It is a well-known fact that there have been cases of malnutrition in the state and many children die due to it every year.”
“In Melghat (Amravati district) alone, 18 children died between July 15 and August 15 this year,” the NCP leader claimed.
After a row over the issue, Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar asked the minister to reserve the question and produce fresh information about malnutrition.
Today’s development comes a day after the Opposition members staged a walkout in the Assembly to express their dissatisfaction with the financial assistance announced by the state government to rain-affected farmers.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had earlier announced that the state government has doubled the sum of compensation mentioned in the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) norms.
The state government will also offer assistance to farmers in places that recorded less than 65 mm rains in 24 hours, but witnessed 33 per cent loss of actual sown soil, he said.
People who lost their houses and other similar projects will also get Rs 15,000 as one-time assistance, Shinde said.
Expressing his dissatisfaction, Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar said, “The government has not announced a wet drought in the state despite witnessing excess rainfall. This is highly unfair.”
“The financial assistance announced by the Shinde government is inadequate and will be of no help to farmers. Hence, we are walking out of the House to mark our protest,” he said.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said the Maha Vikas Aghadi, his party’s coalition with the Congress and NCP, continues despite being dethroned in Maharashtra.
Talking to reporters after a meeting of MVA partners at the state legislature complex here, Thackeray said his government successfully handled the coronavirus crisis.
The current challenge before his party and the MVA was nothing in comparison to that posed by the pandemic, he said.
Thackeray visited the Vidhan Bhavan in south Mumbai for the first time on Tuesday since his resignation as chief minister on June 29 following Eknath Shinde’s rebellion.
“We (MVA partners) met after a long time and felt good. We are still together. We will tell you (soon) what we are going to do,” Thackeray said when asked if the three parties would contest the coming civic polls in Mumbai under the MVA umbrella.
Congress has been vocal about contesting the polls independently.
On the ongoing legal battle in the Supreme Court over various petitions filed by the respective Sena factions headed by him and chief minister Shinde, Thackeray said he had full faith in the judiciary.
