MUMBAI, Aug 5: Opposition members today created a ruckus in the Legislative Council demanding resignation of Chief Minister Manohar Joshi and arrest of his son-in-law Girish Vyas, a Pune-based builder.Chairman Prof N S Pharande refused permission to Opposition leader Chhagan Bhujbal to begin discussion on the issue saying a member must inform him in advance before raising a topic for discussion in the house. Irked by the decision, opposition members including Vasant Chavan, Ranjit Deshmukh, Arun Mehta, Vyamkappa Patki, Hussein Dalwai, Vidya Belose, Rajani Satav and others started shouting slogans. Belose and Deshmukh unfurled banners demanding Joshi's resignation and arrest of Vyas. The two kept on waving the banners despite Pharande's continued warnings to them ``to stop the indecent behaviour''.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena members Arvind Sawant, Shishir Shinde, Ravindra Mirlekar, Prakash Deole, Neela Desai and others rushed to the well protesting against the Opposition members. When repeated appeals tomaintain decorum in the house fell on deaf ears, Pharande adjourned the house for ten minutes.
Earlier, Bhujbal tried to raise the issue through a point of propriety after the question hour was over this afternoon. He wanted to discuss the decision of the State Government's Urban Development Department to dereserve a plot in Pune, reserved for a municipal school, allegedly for Vyas.
When the House reassembled after ten minutes, Pharande ruled that all statements made by Bhujbal in this connection will be expunged from records of proceedings of the House. He told Bhujbal that the matter can be raised by some other means. He condemned Opposition members for bringing banners inside the House and rapped the treasury benches for gathering in the well and passing comments about Opposition members. He said the senior members of the House should conduct classes for junior members to teach them parliamentary etiquette. Further business in the House was carried out without disturbance.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.