Maha council adjourned briefly as opposition criticises CM Eknath Shinde over Nagpur land case

On Wednesday, the Maharashtra Legislative Council was adjourned three times due to controversy over a land allocation decision made by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde when serving as the state's urban development minister.

The subject was brought up in the House by Opposition Leader Ambadas Danve for the second day in a row, and members of the ruling party opposed it.The Bombay High Court's Nagpur division last week ordered the status quo regarding the choice made by Shinde, then the minister of urban development in the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Uddhav Thackeray, regarding the allocation of land intended for slum dwellers to private individuals.

On Tuesday, Shinde resisted the opposition's call for his resignation and denied any misconduct.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 the 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.

Danve stated on Wednesday, "The chairman of the Nagpur Improvement Trust, Manojkumar Suryavanshi, had issued an order declaring that individuals from one family were given more than one plot. Thus, it is impossible to regularise the plot distribution." He asserted that CM Shinde, who had previously served as the state's minister of urban development, had issued an order directing the regularisation of land allotments.Members of the ruling side began shouting and cut off Danve's speech before he could finish.

Legislators from the Bharatiya Janata Party objected to Danve's daily mention of the matter since state Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had already responded to it in the Council on Tuesday.Narendra Darade, a Shiv Sena (UBT) member who was presiding over the House, called for a 15-minute adjournment while both sides persisted in their arguments.Fadnavis said after the House resumed, "Why are we debating the subject once more in the House if the discussion was concluded on Tuesday? Everyone is aware that the matter is in litigation, so why are we debating it in the House?"Danve and Anil Parab, a party colleague, countered that this House has full authority to discuss any matter.

The House was adjourned for a further 15 minutes because neither side was willing to concede.When the hearings resumed, both sides continued to criticise one another and disregarded Darade's pleas for civility.The House was then again adjourned by Darade for 15 minutes.