Maha Assembly Winter session from Nov 19 in Mumbai

In a break from tradition, the Maharashtra Assembly will convene for the Winter session from November 19 in Mumbai instead of Nagpur for the first time in 57 years.

Traditionally, the Monsoon and Budget sessions of the Maharashtra legislature are held in Mumbai while the Winter session is held in Nagpur, the state's second capital.

This will be the first time since 1961 that the Winter session will be held in Mumbai, an official of the Assembly said on Thursday.

As per the Nagpur Pact of 1953, which eventually led to the creation of the state of Maharashtra, Nagpur was accorded the status of second capital.

It was decided that one of the sessions of the legislature each year will be held in Nagpur.

However, the pact did not specify which session would be held in Nagpur. It was decided later that it will host the Winter session, the official said.

The upcoming Winter session will be two-week long, ending November 30, the official said.

At a meeting of the Assembly's Business Advisory Committee on Thursday where the duration of the session was decided, the opposition Congress and NCP wanted the session to be three-week long but it was rejected by the government, the official said.

The Winter session is conventionally two-week long, the official noted.

The number of working days will be eight as two public holidays -- Eid and Gurunanak Jayanti -- fall in this period.

"We sought one more week's time to discuss pressing issues like agrarian crisis, drought management, delaying tactics of the government on reservation demand of Marathas, Dhangars and Muslims, Mumbai development plan and other important urban issues," Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said.

"But the government rejected the demand," he added.

He said by refusing to extend the session, the BJP-led government was running away from debating important issues.

The drought situation in the state is alarming and the government is not ready with a contingency plan to deal with it, the Congress leader said.

NCP leader and Leader of Opposition in the Council Dhananjay Munde too said that the opposition wanted the session extended by one week.

State NCP president Jayant Patil, who is the group leader of his party in the Assembly, alleged that the government wanted to avoid discussion on important issues.