Opposition gives notice of no-confidence against Speaker

Opposition Congress and NCP today gave a notice of no-confidence motion against Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagde for allegedly favouring the government.
They also criticised him for the passage of the motion of thanks on Govenor's address without any debate, thus allowing the government "to run away from debate".
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said 24 Congress and NCP members alongwith senior PWP leader Ganpatrao Deshmukh have signed the notice.
Addressing a press conference, Vikhe Patil accused the Speaker of trying to silence the opposition benches.
"It's Speaker's job to allow opposition members to speak so that they can highlight the issues of common man. Speaker belongs to the House and not the treasury benches," the Congress leader said.

"Bagdehas flouted constitutional norms to allow the government to run away from debate," Vikhe Patil alleged.

NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who was also present at the press conference, said when opposition was ready for discussion on the motion to thank the governor for his address today, Bagde took it up for passage without debate and without the chief minister's reply.
"When the chief minister was speaking, the speaker did not ask MLAs from treasury benches, who were in the well shouting slogans against Dhananjay Munde, a member of the Upper House, to go back to their seats," Pawar said.
Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan said opposition members wanted to speak on the motion thanking the governor and take the government to task for its failures. "But the Speaker allowed the government to get away by passing the motion without debate. We wanted answers from the government on farm crisis, unemployment and other issues," he said.

Chavan also criticised the Speaker for allowing industries minister Subhash Desai to make a statement on the Nanar refinery issue.
"Desai had made a contradictory statement on March 1. On March 1, Desai said the project will cause no damage to environment and crops, and there is no local opposition. But today his statement is exactly opposite," Chavan said.
When the issue had not come up for discussion in the House (today), how can the minister be allowed to make a clarification," he asked.
Bhaskar Jadhav of NCP said he would move a breach of privilege notice against Desai.
Ajit Pawar said the notice of no-confidence motion has to be admitted in 14 days, and as per the precedent, the Speaker doesn't preside over the proceedings till it is disposed of.