Five Shiv Sena legislators suspended for one year

Nagpur, Dec. 2 (IANS) Five Shiv Sena legislators were Thursday suspended from the Maharashtra assembly for a year following their unruly behaviour on two consecutive days.

Sanjay Rathor, Sharad Patil, Ravindra Waikar, Abhijit Adsul and Ashish Jaiswal have also been barred from entering the premises of the state legislature buildings in Nagpur and Mumbai for a year, till the next winter session. The MPs were demanding adequate compensation for farmers who had suffered huge losses during unseasonal rains over the last two months.

The winter session of the Maharashtra assembly started here Wednesday.

A visibly upset Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshavardhan Patil told journalists that the stringent preventive action was taken as the legislators’ unruly behaviour could continue even in the future.

The suspension came in the wake of chaotic scenes in the assembly Wednesday and Thursday when the members climbed on the speaker’s podium, grabbed the speaker’s mace and waved it in the air.

They are also accused of insulting the constitution, a copy of which they allegedly mishandled, besides throwing away legislature documents and files.

The resolution to suspend the five legislators was moved by Patil and accepted by the house by a voice vote.

Following the uproar after the suspension order, the house was adjourned for the day.

Rathor was Wednesday suspended for the entire winter session, but the punishment was hiked to one year.