Maharashtra legislature on Thursday witnessed uproarious scenes over the difficulty of the Speaker’s post lying vacant, leading to a quick adjournment.
The post fell vacant following the resignation of Nana Patole on February 4. He later took over because the Congress’s state unit chief.
Speaking within the House, BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar demanded that the Chair announce a schedule for the Speaker’s election at the earliest, since a delay of 30 days was a “mockery ofthe Constitution”.
He said there was no need for chief minister’s discretion within the matter.
The former state minister said on earlier occasions, the post had remained vacant for one to seven days.
“Do you would like to make history and find a mention within the Guinnessbook of world records?” he asked.
In support of his remarks, Mungantiwar also said Gandhi had dismissed the Sharad Pawar-led Maharashtra government on February 17, 1980 on grounds that there was no constitutional machinery in situ .
“The election schedule (for Speaker’s post) must be announced immediately otherwise there would be President’s rule,” the BJP leader said.
Patole then rose to talk and attacked the BJP and Mungantiwar.
He also claimed that those not donating money for the Ram temple construction were being threatened, and demanded why the BJP was collecting the cash .
