Maharashtra legislature: Oppn sticks to demand of CM Shinde's resignation over Nagpur land allotment issue

Opposition members staged a demonstration in the Maharashtra legislature complex here on Wednesday and reiterated their demand for Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's resignation over the issue of allotment of government land in Nagpur when he was the urban development minister in the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

Members of the ruling alliance of Shinde's Shiv Sena faction and Bharatiya Janata Party also staged a demonstration in the Vidhan Bhavan premises alleging that Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction’s deputy leader Sushma Andhare had insulted saints and Hindu gods.

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court last week ordered status quo on a decision taken by Shinde, when he was the urban development minister in the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, over the allotment of land meant for slum dwellers to private persons.

Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Council Ambadas Danve on Tuesday said the Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT), which comes under the urban development department, had reserved a plot measuring 4.5 acres in the city for the construction of houses for rehabilitation of slum dwellers.

"However, Shinde had issued an order to hand over the land parcel to 16 persons at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore. The current cost of the land is Rs 83 crore," he claimed.

Members of the opposition parties on Tuesday also demanded Shinde's resignation, but the CM had denied any wrongdoing and rejected the demand to quit.

On Wednesday, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Ajit Pawar, Danve, Congress legislator Nana Patole and other MVA leaders staged a demonstration over the NIT land allotment row and demanded the resignation of CM Shinde.

The MVA leaders raised slogans like "Kitne khoke bhukand ok...bhukand shrikhand, 50 khoke ek dum ok", alleging corruption in the NIT land case.

On the other side, BJP legislators Pravin Darekar, Gopichand Padalkar, Shweta Mahale and Shinde camp members also staged a demonstration over the alleged insult of saints by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Andhare.

The ruling alliance members raised slogans against former CM Uddhav Thackeray. PTI CLS GK GK