Sainiks take to streets to protest MLAs' suspension

MUMBAI: The Congress-NCP's decision to suspend nine Shiv Sena-BJP MLAs till the end of the year stoked widespread protests across the state on Friday.
In several places in Mumbai, Thane and Badlapur, Sena activists took to the streets, protesting against the ruling alliance for using its majority in the state legislative assembly to "punish MLAs who protested against the partiality of the government in providing area development funds of ruling MLAs".
Sena acting president Uddhav Thackeray declared that the Sena MLAs would not participate in proceedings of the house till the suspension is lifted. "How can the opposition express its resentment against the government's unjust policies if they keep on suspending MLAs without any justification?"
The protest in the House, led by BJP senior leaders like Girish Mahajan, soon spilled onto the streets where rallies were taken out. Effigies were burnt at different places in the city, while Sena workers forced shop owners in Borivli and Dahisar to down their shutters. "Only chemists and milk suppliers were spared. But, there was no instance of vandalism," said Suresh Kilje, senior inspector of MHB Colony police station.
The ruling alliance is divided over the "punishment". The Congress Legislature Party is not inclined to continue the impasse in the House and has been pleading with the NCP to tone down its action against nine opposition MLAs. A section of Congress MLAs feels that such an action against the elected opposition MLAs would lead to bad publicity for the party. But as the opposition tried to raise the issue of opposition MLAs being denied the chairmanship of Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana during finance minister Ajit Pawar's maiden speech, the NCP is not ready to tone down.
During the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) even Congress MLAs had expressed resentment over allotment of funds for development projects in their constituencies while the demands of NCP MLAs have been given priority. They also sympathised with suspended MLAs, but did not openly support them. According to insiders, senior Congress leaders and the speaker of the state legislative assembly Dilip Valse Patil will use their good offices to reduce the term of suspension when the house reassembles on Monday.