Vidarbha MLAs demand extension of Assembly session to 4 weeks

Nana Patole of BJP said the session, scheduled for two weeks, was not adequate to discuss and solve problems of the regio

Legislators from Vidarbha cutting across party lines today demanded extension of the ongoing Maharashtra Assembly session up to four weeks and to deliver justice to the issues of the region.

Raising the issue in the Lower House, Nana Patole (BJP) said the session, scheduled for two weeks, was not adequate to discuss and solve problems of the region.

Soon, members from both Opposition and treasury benches joined him in his demand.

Vijay Wadettiwar, Virendra Jagtap (both Congress), Ashish Jaiswal, Vijayraj Shinde (Sena) and Sudhir Mungantiwar were on their feet to support the demand.

State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshwardhan Patil, defending the government move of holding the session for two weeks, said it was decided in the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) under the Chairmanship of Speaker Dilip Walse Patil.

He admitted that Opposition members had (during BAC) lodged their protests and demanded holding the session for four weeks.

Patil said though the session may be lasting for two weeks, the members from both sides should utilise the time period for raising the issues of Vidarbha to get justice from the concerned ministries.

Speaker Dilip Walse Patil said the state Cabinet decides the dates for convening the session and later it is convened by the Governor, as per provision of Article 174 of the Constitution. Therefore, the state Assembly is not empowered to either convene the Legislature session or decide its time period or duration.

The Speaker said the demand for taking up Vidarbha issues was raised earlier also on four occasions, right from December 2010 to April 2013.