Nagpur: The Opposition on Sunday mounted a sharp attack on the State Government, branding the seven-day Winter Session of the Maharashtra Legislature as an “election jumla” aimed at clearing massive supplementary demands to pave the way for pre-poll spending ahead of the upcoming local body elections.
Senior leaders from the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) alleged that instead of addressing pressing regional concerns, particularly those of Vidarbha, the Government used the session primarily to fast-track supplementary demands worth over Rs 75,000 crore.
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Addressing a joint press conference at the Shiv Sena (UBT) office in the Vidhan Bhavan premises after the session concluded, Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar accused the Government of conducting a Mumbai-centric session driven by electoral considerations. “For seven days, the discussions revolved around Mumbai, not Vidarbha. Most decisions and Bills were tailored with the forthcoming municipal corporation elections in mind,” he said.
Wadettiwar claimed that no meaningful outcomes emerged from the session. “This Winter Session was not about governance or development, but about luring voters through announcements and fund distribution before elections,” he alleged.
Echoing similar sentiments, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Bhaskar Jadhav said the tabling and swift approval of supplementary demands was the central objective of the session. “The Government tabled supplementary demands amounting to Rs 75,286 crore in both Houses and cleared them within just two days. After that, the tone and functioning of the House changed completely, with the remaining days largely wasted,” Jadhav claimed.
He further said the Opposition had anticipated what he described as “political theatrics” by the ruling Mahayuti and therefore boycotted the customary tea party hosted by the Government ahead of the session.
Senior NCP (SP) leader and MLA Jayant Patil said the Winter Session, traditionally held in Nagpur to focus on Vidarbha’s concerns, failed to serve its purpose. “Vidarbha should have been at the centre of discussions, but the region was given no priority. That is extremely unfortunate,” he said.
Patil also questioned the Government’s claims on employment generation. He pointed out that while around 190 agreements have been signed between companies and the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) over the past three years, the Government has no concrete data on actual job creation. “Most of these agreements are still stuck at the land acquisition stage. This shows the failure to translate MoUs into real employment, especially in Vidarbha,” he alleged.
Calling it a serious policy gap, Patil urged the Government to urgently address the disconnect between industrial agreements and job creation. He also raised concerns over the rising manufacture and consumption of narcotic substances in Maharashtra, alleging that the Government has failed to curb the growing drug menace.
The Opposition leaders further claimed that key demands related to farmers, irrigation and rural distress were ignored throughout the session. Wadettiwar alleged that even the Calling Attention motions were dominated by Mumbai-related issues, leaving Vidarbha’s concerns sidelined.
“Not a single new dam has been built in Vidarbha since the BJP came to power in 2014,” Wadettiwar claimed, reiterating that the Winter Session had turned into an “election gimmick” rather than a forum for addressing the region’s long-standing issues.
