Maha winter session on Dec 14, 15 in Mumbai instead of Nagpur

The winter session of the Maharashtra legislature will be held for two days only on December 14 and 15 in Mumbai instead of Nagpur in view of the coronavirus pandemic, an official said on Thursday.

Traditionally, the winter session of the Maharashtra legislature is held in Nagpur, the second capital of the state. As per the practice, this session lasts for at least two weeks.

"The decision to curtail the winter session to just two days- December 14 and 15- was taken during the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) held on Thursday," the official said.

The state cabinet had on Wednesday decided to recommend to Governor B S Koshyari shifting of the venue of the winter session from Nagpur to Mumbai in view of the pandemic.

The cabinet had also discussed whether the session, that was scheduled to begin in Nagpur from December 7, can be held for a period of two to three days.

Earlier, the monsoon session of the state legislature was held on September 7 and 8 instead on June 22 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Budget session held in March, too, was curtailed by a week.

Meanwhile, opposition BJP expressed its displeasure over the decision to hold the winter session in Mumbai for two days only.

Talking to reporters, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said, "We were expecting a longer session so that it would enable discussion on various issues concerning people and farmers in the state. But this government has shown no interest in extending its duration." "Excess rainfall, floods, cyclone and now the widespread pest infection have damaged various crops from time to time during this year," the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly said.

"Cotton and soybean crops in Vidarbha, Marathwada and North Maharashtra regions got affected on a large scale due to various pest attacks," he said.

"The unresolved issues related to the Maratha community, anxiety among the OBCs over possible encroachment on their reservation by other communities and women feeling highly unsafe are also other key issues. Therefore, we wanted to have a discussion on these points during the session," Fadnavis said.