Maha: Winter session ends, Budget session from February 24

The winter session of the Maharashtra legislature ended here on Saturday.

The Budget session will begin from February 24, said Assembly Speaker Nana Patole, before adjourning the house sine die.

This was the first session of the legislature after Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress coalition government came to power in the state last month.

On the last day of the six-day-long session, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced a loan waiver for farmers in the Assembly.

During the session, Opposition BJP tried to corner the government, especially its former ally Shiv Sena, over the issue of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's comments about Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.

In both Assembly and Legislative Council, the opposition reminded chief minister Thackeray of his own earlier demand of Rs 25,000 per hectare compensation for farmers affected by unseasonal rains, saying he should act on it now.