‘BJP collecting toll in name of Ram Temple’: Congress leader Nana Patole asks them to submit accounts of funds

The ruling dispensation and BJP sparred in the legislature over fund generation for Ram Mandir on Thursday with Congress leader Nana Patole terming it ldquotoll collectionrdquo On Wednesday CM Uddhav Thackeray raked up the issue in his speech prompting Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis to call the Sena lsquoextortionistsrsquoDeputy CM Ajit Pawar at Vidhan Bhavan PicSuresh KarkeraPatole demanded to know under which law the BJP had been collecting donations for the temple ldquoThey are collecting toll in the name of Ram Templerdquo he said asking the BJP to submit the accounts of the funds collected in the past 30 yearsIn response Fadnavis challenged the government to probe the funding ldquoHave a separate debate on this subject We arenrsquot discussing Ram Temple today but debating other issuesrdquo he said The Opposition benches reacted angrily to Patolersquos remarks and shouted slogans The house was adjourned for 10 minutes before normalcy was restoredPrivilege motion moved against Ajit PawarSenior BJP legislator Sudhir Mungantiwar moved a breach of privilege motion against deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar alleging that the head of finance and planning department hasnrsquot kept the promise of forming statutory development boards for Vidarbha Marathwada and Rest of Maharashtra Incharge speaker has sent it to the privilege committee of the lower houseOpposition leaders Devendra Fadnavis and Sudhir MungantiwarIn another instance Mungantiwar wanted to know if the MVA was inviting the Presidentrsquos Rule in Maharashtra He said the government shouldnrsquot cry foul if the delay in electing the Speaker resulted in a constitutional crisis that would enforce the Presidentrsquos Rule He said the Speakerrsquos position had never been vacant for a longer period like in case of the current house The MVA hasnrsquot decided to hold the election in the Budget Session citing several legislatorsrsquo inability to attend the house due to the COVID outbreak The Opposition has been aggressive over the delay in forming the development boards whose terms expired last year Pawar had told the Assembly in the ongoing session that the government would restructure the boards once Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari accepted the Cabinetrsquos recommendation for appointing 12 nominees to the upper house Koshyari has been withholding the decision since October lastPawar faced the BJPrsquos wrath after suggesting the barter and on Thursday he faced the privilege motion During a debate on financial matters Pawar promised allocation of adequate funds to the regions as per the formula decided by the statutory arrangement The Governor directs such a formula when the boards are in functioning for the backward areas but since the government and Raj Bhavan are engaged in unprecedented political sparring Koshyari is unlikely to get to use the powersHostel allegations false Maha govtThe government on Thursday said there was no truth in the allegations that women were stripped and forced to dance by policemen at a hostel in Jalgaon district Speaking in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said a team of senior female police officers had visited the hostel for an inquiry into the alleged incident ldquoThere are 17 women inmates Forty one witnesses were questioned It was found that there is no truth in the allegations No male police official was present It is a womenrsquos hostel and policemen are not allowed insiderdquo he said