Mah: Oppn relents after CM assures even-handed fund allocation

Maharashtra Legislative Assembly proceedings were disrupted for the second day today over constituency-wise allocation of funds to MLAs and the impasse ended only after Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan assured that the imbalance, if any, would be removed.

'The government will take a decision that will be satisfactory to all. We will remove any sense of injustice done to (opposition) legislators,' Chavan said after the Lower House was adjourned three times.

'I agree that funds were diverted for drought-relief work and as a result, there was some shortage in allocation for road repair work,' he said.

Chavan, who met party group leaders in the House to resolve the impasse, assured that discrimination, if any, in allocation of funds between ruling and opposition legislators will be removed. However, he said, no discrimination had been done.

Earlier, proceedings were disrupted thrice with opposition MLAs alleging that the government had approved development work proposals worth Rs 10 crore each for constituencies of legislators affiliated to the ruling Congress-NCP coalition.

As the proceedings began, opposition members shouted slogans against the discrimination. Leader of opposition Eknath Khadse (BJP) said the supplementary demands tabled in the House showed there was discrimination in allocation.

MNS MLA Bala Nandgaonkar recalled that in 2009, the Bombay High Court had directed the government that there should be no discrimination in allocation of funds, and alleged that the government was flouting the court directives.