'Governor go back': Oppn shout slogans in M'rashtra assembly

Governor was targeted in view of his refusal to sanction CBI to prosecute former state CM Ashok Chavan

The Opposition in Maharashtra Legislature today shouted slogans against Governor K Sankaranarayanan accusing him of protecting corrupt ministers.

They raised slogans like "Governor go back", "make Maharashtra toll free" when the Governor delivered his speech to the joint session of both Houses on the first day of the four-day Legislature session.

The protesting members were led by Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Vinod Tawde.

The Governor was targeted in view of his refusal to sanction CBI to prosecute former state Chief Minister Ashok Chavan in the Adarsh housing society scam.

In his 40-minute speech, Sankaranarayanan listed achievements of the Prithviraj Chavan-led government in the field of infrastructure, health, e-governance, industrial investment, social sector to uplift lives of poor and down trodden, and steps taken to tide over acute drought situation.

He said 4,484 kms road length out of 2.42 lakh kms has been developed by PWD, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation and National Highway Authority on Built Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis.

So far, 67 toll plazas have been closed. For bringing uniform policy regarding projections to be implemented under public-private partnership scheme, a PPP toll policy is being considered by the government, he said, adding that the state has been able to attract highest foreign direct investment in the country.

The state has the highest 18 per cent share of investment amounting to Rs 10,21,633 crore in the total investment involved in industrial proposals filed with the Centre. Out of the 403 mega projects, 114 projects have gone into production, he said.

More than 8.7 crore residents have been enrolled and Aadhar cards have been generated for approximately 8.2 crore residents, which is the highest in the country, he said.

The Governor expressed satisfaction that the state has achieved remarkable success in reducing maternal mortality rate. The rate for country stands at 212 per one lakh live births, while in Maharashtra it is 104.