Koshyari storms out of Maharashtra assembly without completing his speech

The first day of Maharashtra legislature’s budget session on Thursday witnessed unprecedented chaos as governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari left Vidhan Bhavan without completing his address to both Houses amid constant sloganeering by legislators.

As soon as Koshyari entered the Bhavan’s Central Hall at 11 am, members of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress) raised slogans in praise of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Legislators belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on the other hand, raised slogans, demanding the ouster of minority affairs minister Nawab Malik, who was arrested last week and is presently in Enforcement Directorate’s custody in an alleged money laundering case.

Even as Koshyari began his address to the joint session of both the Houses, members of both the ruling coalition and the opposition continued with their sloganeering, prompting the governor to stop his speech midway, at around 11.02 am, and leave the premises.

The joint session for the governor’s address ended at 11.05 am after the national anthem, following which the session began in both Houses.

While the BJP blamed the MVA for the governor’s speech ending abruptly, the latter said Koshyari’s action was an insult to the people of the state.

“Maharashtra has been insulted. The governor leaving (mid-way) like this… it is wrong,” state minister and Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray said.

OBC welfare minister and Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar said: “I do not understand, doesn’t the governor like slogans hailing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj?... Did we shout slogans against the governor? He should have waited for the national anthem... this is an insult to the nation.”

Koshyari on Sunday found himself in the centre of a controversy after he said that Samarth Ramdas was the ‘guru’ of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The governor made the remarks during a programme in Aurangabad.

His comments attracted criticism from political parties and Maratha outfits that insisted that Shivaji Maharaj’s parents – father Shahaji Bhosale and mother Jijamata. – were behind his ambition to form a separate Maratha kingdom.

As Kosyari left the hall without completing his speech, Congress state unit chief Nana Patole said the party is planning to move a motion in the legislature, seeking recall of the governor.

“The governor is making objectionable statements. Does he have the support of Delhi to make such statements?... He will have to apologise for it. If need be, a motion will be moved in the legislature asking for his recall and legal points are being examined,” he said.

The BJP blamed the coalition leaders for the ruckus.

“The truth is, when the governor wanted to start the national anthem, these people were shouting slogans. He requested them thrice (to maintain order) so that we could start the national anthem, but these people were busy sloganeering,” leader of opposition Devendra Fadnavis said.

“The MVA government must have made up its mind to insult the governor,” the former chief minister added.

“It is the responsibility of the treasury benches to ensure smooth conduct of the House and they failed in doing so. The MVA members were creating a ruckus when the governor arrived. The governor had to request them thrice to allow the national anthem to be played,” BJP leader Ashish Shelar said.

Meanwhile, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray is expected to write a letter to the President over the governor’s “act of curtailing the speech”.

“The state government (in the letter) will express its unhappiness over the governor’s act of curtailing the speech. The letter will also highlight how the governor did not wait for the national anthem to be played after the speech,” a cabinet minister said, seeking anonymity.