Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly staged a walkout accusing the Speaker of delaying action against members who hit a poster of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with footwear on the legislature premises.
Speaker Rahul Narvekar said he needs to take Deputy Chairperson of the Legislative Council Neelam Gorhe into confidence while preparing guidelines for members’ conduct at the legislature and in the House.
Narvekar urged the Opposition members to allow the Question Hour to proceed. As the House assembled for the day, Congress’ Ashok Chavan raised the issue. He was supported by Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar, Congress legislator Balasaheb Thorat and many more members.
Lawmakers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena had on Thursday hit the poster of Gandhi with footwear on the stairs of the legislature complex here for his alleged remarks against Savarkar.
Gandhi has been repeatedly targeting Savarkar, they said. During the Maharashtra leg of his Bharat Jodo Yatra in November last year, Gandhi had allegedly claimed that the Hindutva ideologue helped the British rulers and wrote a mercy petition to them out of fear.
You should remember that it has happened during your tenure and the decision you give will have a far-reaching impact on legislature proceedings, Thorat said, asserting that he expects the chair to be unbiased.
Nationalist Congress Party member Jayant Patil asked the Speaker to adjourn the House proceedings and give his ruling after consulting the deputy chairperson of the Upper House.
When Narvekar told the Opposition that sporting black bands in the House was not in accordance with legislative norms, Patil said it was a sign of their protest. He then said they were walking out in protest.