State Legislature session ends

NAGPUR, DECEMBER 24: The two-week session of the Maharashtra Legislature ended here today with the Democratic Front Government, headed by ...

NAGPUR, DECEMBER 24: The two-week session of the Maharashtra Legislature ended here today with the Democratic Front Government, headed by Vilasrao Deshmukh, getting a smooth sailing. The Budget Session will be held in Mumbai from March 13 next year.

It was the first full-fledged session for the DF Government after it assumed office. Earlier, the two-day session was held on the directive of the Governer to prove its majority on the floor of the Assembly.

The Nagpur session had assumed significance in view of Sena chief Bal Thackeray’s threat to topple it. Shiv Sena and BJP members were openly talking about a miracle during the session. But all their calculations went wrong.

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On the contrary, the Chief Minister received a shot in the arm when DF nominee Pramod Shende (Cong) was elected deputy speaker, defeating the Opposition Sena-BJP combine nominee Anil Gote (Ind) by a margin of 21 votes.

The Sena-BJP Opposition received setbacks on three major issues.

The Opposition had submitted a motion of no-confidence against Assembly Speaker Arun Gujrathi just two days after the session began on December 13. The motion had charged Gujrathi with adopting a partisan attitude towards Opposition. The Opposition did this when Gujrathi allowed Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, in the midst of a debate of motion of thanks to the Governor’s address, to reply to the allegations levelled against him by Shiv Sena and BJP members.

The Speaker had the next day suspended seven Shiv Sena members from the house for seven days for their unruly behaviour. Bhujbal, who broke away from the Sena a decade ago, was at the focal point of their protest. As a trade-off, the Opposition agreed not to press the no-confidence against the Speaker after the suspension of the Sena members was revoked.