Congress’ absence raises eyebrows as Sena (UBT), NCP try to corner govt

Last week, Congress joined forces with the MVA when NCP MLA Jayant Patil was suspended from the Assembly after he asked Speaker Rahul Narvekar “not to behave like a shameless person”. The MVA held a protest over the state government’s move claiming the latter was suppressing the Opposition’s voice.

On Monday, the Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar raised the issue of alleged irregularities by Agricultural Minister Abdul Sattar and demanded his resignation. After the House was adjourned, NCP and Sena MLAs protested at the stairs of the legislative building.

Kailash Gorantyal, the lone Congress MLA was present when Ajit Pawar and former CM Uddhav Thackeray addressed the media. When asked about the absence of his colleagues, Gorantyal said that the party is with the protest.

Sattar, a former Congressman, hails from Sillod in the Aurangabad district while Gorantyal is an elected representative from the neighbouring Jalna district.

Two Congress MLAs, Amin Patel and Aslam Sheikh participated in the Question Hour and later in a discussion on Attention Motion, respectively, at a time when the rest of the Opposition had either boycotted the proceedings or were demanding Sattar’s resignation.