Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today said he will place before the State Legislature tomorrow the stand of his government on remarks made by Advocate General Shreehari Aney, seeking separate statehood for Vidarbha.
Laney has been under the fire of political parties over his reported remarks that there is a need for referendum to ascertain whether separate statehood demand for Vidarbha was just. Opposition since then has been demanding Aney's removal from the constitutional post.
Noisy scenes were witnessed in the Legislative Council today with opposition members demanding that the government place its stand before the House, as directed by Chairman Ramraje Nimbalkar, yesterday, on Aney's comments.
"Devendra Fadnavis is saying that the government is seeking information from the AG as it cannot just go by media reports. We strongly objected to this and demanded that the Chairman direct the government to give its statement by tomorrow," Congress MLC Sanjay Dutt told reporters.
Dutt said that by repeatedly making the demand for a separate statehood for Vidarbha, the AG has not only undermined the authority of the CM, but has also overstepped his role and created confusion by setting a wrong precedent, that needs to be urgently clarified by the state government.
"Finally, the Chief Minister agreed and declared that before the adjournment of Council tomorrow evening, the government will place its stand on the subject in the Council," he said.
Aney at a function in Nagpur held on December 5 had said that there should be a referendum on separate Vidarbha and if it is more than 51 per cent, the government should create Vidarbha and claimed that more than 80 per cent of the population in Vidarbha was in favour of a separate statehood.
