Rain or not, expect thunder in session

Unlike the rains which have so far been errant, the last monsoon session of the Maharashtra assembly before the upcoming state polls, beginning in Mumbai on Thursday, holds out the promise of thunder and lightning.

- Rohit Chandavarkar & Kalpesh Mhamunkar

The opposition parties – the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar’s NCP – are planning to corner the Eknath Shinde government over various issues such as the law-and-order situation, students’ predicament, Maratha reservation, farmer suicides, onion farmers’ agitation, the Porsche crash case in Pune, corruption, unemployment, investment and other subjects.

The Ghatkopar billboard collapse incident, the droughtlike situation in many parts of Maharashtra and falling rates of cotton and soybean will also be raised, to corner the government.

The long-lasting agitation of onion producers, farmer suicides in the state and the ban on onion exports have become a burning political issue in the state.

The recent Pune Porsche crash case, in which some allegations were levelled against an MLA of the NCP - for his alleged role in trying to intervene on behalf of the accused is also expected to be raked up, apart from the issues faced by students and agitating workers in various parts of the state.

In a symbolic act of protest, the opposition parties boycotted the customary tea party organised by the CM on the eve of the session at Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai.

However, CM Shinde sounded confident. "We have worked hard for the people. Various projects have been completed. Our work speaks for itself.

We do not want to engage in any slanging matches or verbal duels. We will continue to work. We are also confident about the upcoming elections," Shinde told the media.