MPs spar over Maharashtra upheaval during no-trust motion

Sparks flew in the Lok Sabha over the political upheaval in Maharashtra as Nationalist Congress Party leader Supriya Sule accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of toppling nine state governments during its nine years in power at the Centre and Shiv Sena member Shrikant Shinde took potshots at former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.

Shinde, participating in a discussion on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, took a jibe at the opposition coalition Indian National Develomental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) describing it as a 'destructive alliance' and said the next elections will be fought on the issue of scams of the United Progressive Alliance and schemes of the National Democratic Alliance.

Shinde also accused the Thackeray-led Maharashtra government of indulging in corrupt practices instead of taking steps to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray member Arvind Sawant hit out at the BJP and claimed that the ruling party had embraced the leaders of the NCP, which it had described as 'Naturally Corrupt Party' and even made them ministers in the Maharashtra government.

Sawant slammed Shinde for criticising Uddhav Thackeray's handling of the pandemic in Maharashtra.

He said Thackeray's handling of the crisis was hailed by global organisations such as the World Health Organisation.

Union Minister Narayan Rane was engaged in a heated exchange with Sawant.

Rane, a former Maharashtra chief minister, said the Shiv Sena under Thackeray had weakened considerably.

"The Shiv Sena no longer has the roar of the tiger. It has now been reduced to a meowing cat," said Rane, a former Shiv Sena leader who joined the BJP after a long stint with the Congress.

Rane claimed that the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has no 'stature' to speak against Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah.

Shiv Sena-UBT members tried to shout down Rane, who also appeared to become a bit aggressive, which prompted the Chair to call for the next speaker.

Sule, the Lok Sabha member from Baramati, said that in the past nine years the central government has destroyed institutions and the law and order situation, including in Manipur and some parts of Maharashtra.

"The BJP has toppled nine (state) governments in the last nine years -- Arunachal, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Karnataka, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry and Maharashtra twice," said Sule.

"How can a party that toppled governments in nine states be called a party with a difference," she asked.

The NCP leader also called for the resignation of Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh.

Last year, Shiv Sena witnessed a split with Eknath Shinde walking out with a large chunk of MLAs leading to the ouster of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress MVA government led by Uddhav Thackeray.

Shinde became the chief minister with support from the BJP.

Last month, the NCP split as senior leader Ajit Pawar and other MLAs joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra.