Maha Assembly revokes 10 Oppn MLAs' suspension

The Maharashtra Assembly on Friday revoked the suspension of ten more opposition MLAs who had been barred from attending the House proceedings for the rest of the year for creating ruckus during the Budget presentation last month. A total of 19 opposition MLAs, 10 from the NCP and nine from the Congress, were suspended on March 22 till the end of the year.

Barred from attending the House, their entry to the legislature premises in Mumbai as well as Nagpur had been restricted. The winter session of the state assembly is held at its Nagpur premises.

The suspension of other nine members had been revoked on April 1.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Girish Bapat on Friday moved a resolution for revocation of the suspension of the remaining 10 MLAs and it was adopted by the House.

The ten members who will be able to return to the House now are: Amar Kale, Vijay Wadettiwar, Kunal Patil, Jaykumar Gore, Harshwardhan Sapkal (all from Congress) besides Bhaskar Jadhav, Madhusudhan Kendre, Jitendra Awhad, Rahul Jagtap and Sangram Jagtap of the NCP.

Bapat said the government wished to ensure smooth functioning of the House and hence revoked the suspension of the members suo moto.

He, however, said, "The government's action was not met with a favourable response from the Opposition which continued to boycott proceedings of the House." "But the government is large-hearted and wants smooth functioning of the House in an amicable atmosphere," the minister said.