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The budget session of the Maharashtra Assembly will be beginning tomorrow with the opposition Congress and NCP aiming to target the Devandra Fadnavis Government on a host of issues ranging from the scrapping of Mulsim reservation in education, ban on bullock slaughter and failure to address farmers' grievances arising from drought and unseasonal rains.
Putting a brave face, Chief Minister Fadnavis said the opposition has no real issues to raise during the session.
The session will get under way with Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao's customary address to the house, laying the broad roadmap of the Government's policy initiatives for the year ahead.
Finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar is scheduled to present the state budget for 2015-16 on March 18.
Signals from the opposition camp is that the decision to scrap Muslim reservation, ban on bullock slaughter, killing of communist leader Govind Pansare, farmers' crisis due to drought and hailstorm and lack of financial aid to sugar industry are to come up for heated debate.
Congress and NCP leaders have decided to boycott chief minister's customary tea party on the eve of the session.
Both the parties, which had a rocky relationship during the past 15 years while sharing in power, are trying to project a united front during the session.
For Fadnavis, the priority seems to be tackling the growing strains in the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena alliance.
A recent meeting of the BJP-Sena co-ordination committee could not soften Sena's anti-BJP stance on issues like land reforms.
Shiv Sena has threatened to launch an agitation against the nuclear power plant at Jaitapur in Konkan region.
Fadnavis, known for his hard-hitting speeches during budget debate while in the opposition, this time around will be facing the heat from the opposition over budgetary proposals.
Leader of Opposition in state Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said, "We will target the government for failure to provide relief to drought-affected farmers who are reeling under severe crisis."
