Walk-out in council over Mafatlal Byculla plot

The Shiv Sena-BJP opposition yesterday staged a walkout from the Maharashtra Council, alleging the DF government of changing the reservation of 72 plots under the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation jurisdiction by keeping the improvement committee of the civic body in the dark.

Shiv Sena legislator Vilas Awchat raised the issue in the house during question hour pointing out that the state government had allotted around 27,000 sq ft of land reserved for the expansion of the Jijamata Park, popularly known as Ranichi Baag, to the Mafatlal Weaving, Spinning and Manufacturing Company Ltd at Byculla in central Mumbai even after the completion of lease period.

In his reply, urban development minister Sunil Tatkare said the government had given the 59504.23 sq yard of land on lease to the Mafatlal till 2012.

Of the total land given on lease, 27,000 sq feet of land had been reserved for the expansion of the Jijamata Park and the remaining land had been renamed as 'retention activity' so as to allow the company owner to pay the employees and repay the loans of the financial institutes in view of keeping the sick mill working, he added.

BJP member Vinod Tawade alleged that the government had so far converted the reservation of 72 plots, including the controversial one at Byculla in the city for "their interest".

Meanwhile, pandemonium marked proceedings of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly today as bellicose Shiv Sena-BJP legislatures raked up the issue of alleged objectionable references to Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji in a book authored by historian Surendra Nath Sen and its Marathi version brought out by the state government's literary board.

Prior to the house being adjourned for the day, the assembly had witnessed four adjournments of varying periods as noisy Sena-BJP opposition members rushed to the well of the house, flaunted banners and raised slogans against the Congress-led DF government.

Amid the melee, Shivsharan Birajdar (Sena) was also seen taking away the mace from the speaker's podium.

The house could not transact any listed business as the chair's pleas to restore normalcy fell on deaf ears.

The vociferous opposition was seeking action against literary board officials, including its chief R R Borade, for translating Sen's book, The Administrative System Of Marathas.

No sooner than the house met at 1200 hours, the ruckus began with the opposition leader Narayan Rane moving an adjournment motion seeking suspension of the question hour to enable the house to take up the issue of alleged "insult" of the Maratha warrior king.

Rane was supported by BJP leaders Eknath Khadse and Gopinath Munde.

Munde said the government by bringing out a book "containing objectionable references to Shivaji has insulted the people of the state."

The Sena-BJP members strongly demanded that the Congress-led DF government should tender an unconditional apology to the people of the state for "hurting their sentiment and pride."

The din forced the chair to adjourn the house for ten minutes initially. However, with speaker Arun Gujrathi's plea to restore normalcy in the house falling on deaf ears, the house was adjourned twice in succession for half an hour.

When the house re-assembled again the Sena-BJP members continued their sloganeering, forcing the speaker to adjourn the house for an hour and later for the day.

However, before the final adjournment, cultural affairs minister Ashok Chavan stated that the erstwhile Sena-BJP government had sanctioned translation of the book and it was merely printed during the DF regime.

The state home minister R R Patil also adopted similar stance outside the house while speaking to reporters.

The issue of objectionable references to the Maratha warrior king had also figured in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls, with both the ruling coalition of congress-NCP and Sena-BJP attempting to derive political mileage keeping in view the strong Maratha votebank.