Mumbai, March 25 The opposition on Wednesday accused the BJP-led Mahayuti government of displaying "arrogance of the majority" and alleged it failed to respond to their questions and pushed key legislations without adequate discussion in the Maharashtra assembly.
Addressing a press conference after the end of the budget session, NCP (SP) MLA Jayant Patil said the government had developed a practice of ignoring proposals raised by the opposition, with replies delayed by two to three weeks, and in some cases, multiple proposals being clubbed together for a single response.
He alleged that important bills were introduced and passed in the final hours of the session without any meaningful debate.
"The government did not give satisfactory replies to our questions. There is black-marketing of LPG cylinders in the state, and information on petrol and diesel was also being withheld," the former state finance minister said.
He added that dues of contractors amounting to Rs 89,000 crore remain pending, with no clear stand taken by the government.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab also targeted the ruling alliance, which has an overwhelming majority in the assembly, alleging the opposition was being weakened while bills were hurriedly cleared at the last moment.
"This has never happened in the state's history," he said, demanding that reports of Special Investigation Teams (SITs) constituted over the last five sessions be made public.
Parab further said the budget session witnessed infighting among ruling party members, attacks on ministers (apparently referring to the ruckus during the Satara ZP president poll) and disputes over powers within the House, calling it an "unfortunate" phase for the state.
He alleged that the Speaker's chair was used to push a partisan agenda, terming the session a "black mark" in Maharashtra's legislative history.
Congress MLA Nitin Raut also expressed displeasure, claiming the opposition was not given adequate opportunity to speak in the Lower House.
"Discussions were held late at night when ministers were not present. Earlier, if the opposition staged a walkout, issues were resolved through dialogue, but that did not happen this time," he maintained.