Budget session: Oppn to corner govt, boycott CM's tea party

The Opposition would corner the Congress-NCP government on various issues, including its decision not to prosecute former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan in Adarsh housing society scam, during the Budget session of the Maharashtra Legislature starting tomorrow.
The Opposition leaders would demand a reply from Governor K Sankaranarayanan over the action taken by the state government against former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan for his alleged involvement in the multi-crore Adarsh housing society scam, Leader of Opposition in state Assembly Eknath Khadse told mediapersons here today.
The Opposition would not attend the customary tea party hosted by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan this evening, Khadse said.

"The state government has tabled the action taken report on the Adarsh scam in the House. Therefore, now it is the property of the House. When the Governor will deliver his speech at the start of the session tomorrow we will demand what action has the government taken against Chavan," he said.
Stressing that the Opposition is not "weak", he said they would "expose" the government during the session.
"We had demanded debate on various important issues and therefore, asked the government to increase the period of the session. However, they did not accept our demand. Government kept the session only for four days," he said.

The Opposition would also seek a reply on the toll collection issue, cancellation of local bodies tax (LBT) in the state and action taken by the government against 16 tainted incumbent and former ministers, the BJP leader said.
The government has also held marathon meetings with Madhav Chitale, who is probing the Rs 70,000 crore irrigation scam in the state.
"The government has held two meetings with Chitale. Government wants to show the involvement of Opposition leaders in the irrigation scam," Khadse alleged.