Nagpur: After Maharashtra legislature’s Business Advisory Committee (BAC) on Tuesday decided to hold winter session of state legislature in Mumbai instead of Nagpur in view of Covid-19 pandemic, mixed reactions poured in from Vidarbha legislators.
Session was supposed to be held here from December 7 to 18, now it would be held in the state capital from the same date. While ruling coalition MLAs hailed the decision, their opposition counterparts flayed the government and demanded next budget session be held in Nagpur in March.
“We saw how the virus wreaked havoc in the city after the recent festival season. Now, another festival is approaching and there are chances coronavirus may strike again. To avoid this, we have decided not to hold the session here. There’s no point spending crores and putting everyone’s lives at risk,” speaker Nana Patole said adding that the government had agreed to hold budget session in Nagpur.
Energy minister Nitin Raut said as city's current situation was not conducive to holding the session, they requested BAC members to defer it. “To compensate for this loss, we have requested the members to hold March session here so that various issues pertaining to Vidarbha could be addressed. Over 18,000 visitors arrive in the city for the session every year. This may lead to a second wave of infection or may aggravate the situation, like in Delhi.”
During the BAC meeting, leader of opposition in assembly Devendra Fadnavis and his counterpart in council Pravin Darekar told members that if winter session wasn’t possible in Nagpur the government should hold budget session here. “The government informed that city administration isn’t prepared for the event as it was busy taking care of healthcare facilities. Moreover, the places where visitors used to stay have been turned into Covid care centres where coronavirus patients are still being treated,” Fadnavis said.
The Southwest Nagpur MLA, who attended the meeting through video conferencing, added that the government cited reasons like the city witnessing extreme cold weather in December and also expressed concerns over huge expenditure for holding the entire exercise. “We requested chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to hold the March session in Nagpur. He has assured to discuss the issue in the next BAC meeting,” Fadnavis said.
Former finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said the government was running away from responsibilities of holding the session in Vidarbha. “As per Nagpur pact, they must conduct it here once in a year. They are not serious about Vidarbha and its citizens. Ever since they took over, they have betrayed Vidarbha people at every opportunity. Till date, they haven’t reconstituted Vidarbha Statutory Development Board (VSDB), nor opened religious places.”
MLAs like Vikas Thakre, who was strongly opposing the session being held here, hailed BAC’s move. “I had been raising the issue since for a couple of months, as threat of Covid-19 still runs high. The administration looking after healthcare, would have had to divert attention to the leaders and citizens would have suffered. The government should allocate funds meant for the session for developing healthcare facilities in the city, particularly for upgradation of the government medical hospitals and colleges (GMCHs),” he said.