Maharashtra Opposition boycotts tea meet

Dares government to table bill proposing continuation of ban on dance bars

Opposition parties in Maharashtra boycotted the customary tea meeting organised by the chief minister on the eve of the budget session of the state legislature.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said a Bill would be introduced during the budget session of the state Legislature, which started on Wednesday, to stop dance bars from reopening. The announcement comes in the wake of Supreme Court's order last week asking the BJP-led Maharashtra government to grant licences to dance bar owners within 10 days of complying with modified guidelines.

The Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, Peasants & Workers Party and RPI (Kawade) said they did not think it fit to have tea with a government that was insensitive towards farmers’ woes and inactive in controlling the deteriorating law and order situation.

Leader of opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and leader of opposition in the state council Dhananjay Munde also held the BJP government responsible for poor finances and said the government was so far able to spend only 42 per cent of the total budget of 2015-16. Former finance minister Jayant Patil alleged that the government would be able to spend another 10 per cent by the end of the current financial year and this was to show low revenue deficit.

Vikhe-Patil and Munde, who held a meeting with the opposition parties, told reporters that the government had no direction and lacked conviction in helping drought-hit villagers. The duo claimed that the government was involved in making a slew of announcements but very little was visible on the ground.