NAGPUR, 7 December 2006 — Opposition deputies in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly continued their protests yesterday against the refusal of the state government to discuss the issue of farmers committing suicide. The protesting legislators staged a walkout when their demand to discuss the issue was turned down.
Leader of the opposition in the assembly, Ramdas Kadam, who is also a Shiv Sena member, and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gopinath Munde protested outside the assembly before the house went into session, raising slogans against the government.
When the session began, the opposition deputies, who had demanded debate and voting on the issue, boycotted the proceedings and asked other opposition members to walk out.
To avoid confrontation between the government and opposition members, Ganpatrao Deshmukh of the Peasants and Workers Party and Narsavya Adham of the Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPI-M) asked Speaker Babasaheb Kupekar to invite senior opposition leaders Kadam and Munde to sort out the issue.
Harshvardan Patil, the minister for legislative affairs, then told the assembly that it was decided on Tuesday that discussions would take place after the question hour, but it was surprising that the opposition instead of participating in the debate walked out of the assembly.
Speaker Kupekar said that he had made all efforts to reach an amicable settlement but the opposition was adamant on boycotting the proceedings. Kupekar further said that as the farmers’ issue was a serious matter, the protest by the opposition deputies would send a negative message.
Low-Caste Hindus Rally in Mumbai
Tens of thousands of low-caste Hindus rallied in Mumbai yesterday to mark the anniversary of the death of their leader, days after violent protests over the desecration of his statue.
The Dalits, as they are called, gathered in a huge park in the center of the city to commemorate the death of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, who authored India’s constitution, which prohibits caste-based discrimination.
Fresh violence broke out yesterday in the southern state of Karnataka which shares a border with Maharashtra. Police said they fired tear gas shells to disperse a rioting mob of low-caste Hindus that set fire to two buses and stoned several vehicles in Bidar, about 735 km north of state capital, Bangalore.
