Maharashtra Legislative Council Chairman Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar Thursday ruled that party group leaders should decide whether BJP-backed independent legislator Prashant Paricharak be dismissed or not.
Shiv Sena MLC Anil Parab had moved a proposal seeking dismissal of Paricharak from the Legislative Council for his controversial remarks on the wives of the army personnel in 2017.
After his remarks, Paricharak was suspended from the Upper House in March 2017. However, his suspension was revoked exactly a year later, following which Parab had moved the proposal to dismiss him.
"In my opinion, Parab's proposal is not acceptable. But in the last assembly session it was discussed that the decision on it will be taken by the party group leaders. So, the party group leaders should take a call on the proposal to dismiss Paricharak and whether to allow him entry into the House," Nimbalkar ruled in the House.
Even as Nimbalkar was giving his ruling, Shiv Sena legislators and opposition parties started raising slogans and questioning him.
Speaking to reporters later, Parab said, "We felt that my proposal to dismiss Paricharak has been rejected and he has been allowed to enter the House. However, the chairman has actually ruled that the party group leaders should decide on my proposal and whether to allow him in the House."
Leader of Opposition Dhananjay Munde said the chairman gave his ruling based on the suggestions gave by the BJP legislators.
"It was wrong on the part of the BJP to pressurise the chairman. Besides, this was not the time to discuss Paricharak's proposal when we decided not have any discussion on the budget and curtailed the session by two days," he told reporters.
He added that the situation at the border was grave therefore even pressing issues like prevailing drought and questions of farmers were not discussed in the session and thebudget was allowed to be passed without any discussion.
Nimbalkar gave his ruling before the budget session of the state legislature was cut short on Thursday by two days in the backdrop of high alert in Mumbai amid rising Indo-Pak tensions.
During an election campaign in 2017, Paricharak had said that soldiers at the borders distribute sweets when their babies are born although they haven't come home in a year, thus indirectly suggesting that their wives are unfaithful.
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