In order to debate the 14 fatalities caused by sunstroke in April while attending the “Maharashtra Bhushan” award ceremony in the Kharghar neighbourhood of Navi Mumbai, the Maharashtra Congress has urged that a special session of the state legislature be called.
The party also requests that the government take note of the demonstrations against the planned Barsu oil refinery in the Ratnagiri area.
During a meeting with the governor on Tuesday at the Raj Bhavan, a delegation from the Congress made this demand.
What has Congress declared?
Tuesday, after meeting with the governor, state Congress president Nana Patole spoke to media and said that the event that occurred in Kharghar at the “Maharashtra Bhushan” award ceremony was a “state-sponsored murder” and that, as of this point, no complaint has been filed in this regard.
“The tragedy was caused by the government’s poor preparation. A judge on the high court need to look into it, he added.
Patole further said that the government was forcing the Barsu refinery project on the community despite their resistance.
Exactly what is going on in Ratnagiri?
An element of the population in and around Barsu in Ratnagiri has been opposed to the proposed refinery because they believe the massive project will negatively impact the delicate biodiversity of the coastal Konkan region and also have an impact on their way of life.
He said that the state administration wanted to damage Konkan’s beautiful ecosystem and was using police force to persecute the inhabitants.
Patole said that farmers should get prompt assistance since they have sustained losses as a result of unseasonal rainfall and hailstorms. The weather shift has decimated the farmers, and the state’s farmer suicide rate has gone up, he said.
The leader of the Congress said that in order to debate all of these concerns, they have asked that the governor summon a special session of the legislature.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan and state Congress working president Naseem Khan were also a part of the delegation.
Chavan said that the head of the Maratha Reservation Sub-Committee had urged that the 50% quota limit be eased under the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi administration, which was made up of the Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress in its then-undivided form. Without raising the reservation limit from its present 50%, it is not viable to provide reservations to the Maratha group. He said that while this subject was brought up in Parliament by MPs as well, the Narendra Modi administration did not make a decision.
A curative petition, according to Chavan, will similarly be ineffective. In Chhattisgarh, 58% of the population is presently under reservation.
Maharashtra should get the benefits of Maratha community reservation, similar to Chhattisgarh. He said, “The governor should let the central government know about this.”
