Maharashtra: Opposition Targets CM Shinde Over Nagpur Land Case

Nagpur: Maharashtra Legislative Council was adjourned thrice on Wednesday after uproar over a Nagpur land allotment decision by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as the urban development minister in the previous state government.

Leader of Opposition Ambadas Danve raised the issue in the House for the second consecutive day to which members of the ruling side objected.

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court last week ordered status quo on the 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.

Shinde had on Tuesday denied any wrongdoing and rejected the Opposition's demand to quit.

Danve on Tuesday said the Nagpur Improvement Trust, 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," the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader had claimed.

On Wednesday, Danve said, “Manojkumar Suryavanshi, chairman of the Nagpur Improvement Trust, had issued an order stating people from one family received more than one plot. Thus, the plot distribution cannot be regularised.”

He claimed that CM Shinde, who was earlier the state's urban development minister, had given an order for the regularisation of land allotments.

Before Danve could proceed further, members of the ruling side started shouting and interrupted his speech.

The Bharatiya Janata Party legislators objected that Danve was raising the issue every day when state Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had already given a reply on it in the Council on Tuesday.

As both sides continued to argue, Shiv Sena (UBT) member Narendra Darade, who was presiding over the House, adjourned the proceedings for 15 minutes.

When the House resumed, Fadnavis said, “If the discussion was over on Tuesday, why are we discussing the issue again in the House? Everybody knows the issue is sub-judice, then why are we discussing it in the House.”

However, Danve and his party colleague Anil Parab argued that this House has all the rights to discuss any issue.

As both sides refused to back down, the House was adjourned for another 15 minutes.

When the proceedings resumed, both sides continued targeting each other, ignoring the appeal of Darade to maintain decorum. Darade then adjourned the House again for 15 minutes.