After uproarious scenes and a walkout by the entire Opposition, the Assembly, Friday, ratified the amendments made by the Council in the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences Bill.

Anees Ahmed (Congress) and Independent Sunil Kedar even climbed up the Speaker's podium displaying a banner and raising slogans condemning the alliance government for its refusal to set up the university in the city. Former ministers and Congress members Dr Shrawan Parate, Manikrao Thakre, Harshwardhan Deshmukh and Marotrao Kowase and Samajwadi Party member Sohail Lokhandwala were among those who entered the well of the House. They staged a noisy walkout after a brief speech by R R Patil (Congress), who condemned the alliance government by saying that it was not willing to consider the demand to set up the medical university inNagpur even after the entire Opposition readily agreed to extend cooperation. He accused the alliance government of using its brute majority to pass the Bill.

It is interested in steam-rolling the Opposition, he alleged. Earlier, participating in the debate, they recalled that the then Congress Government had created four separate agricultural universities, one each for four regions.The alliance government should agree to set up at least one more medical university at Nagpur, they argued.