New Maharashtra assembly speaker to be from Congress; no discord in allies over post: Nana Patole

Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Friday said the new speaker of the state assembly will be from his party and asserted there were no differences among the ruling MVA allies over the post lying vacant since FebruaryTalking to reporters here Patole said the Shiv Senaled MVA government wants the speakers election to be held during the twoday monsoon session of the state legislature beginning here from July 5 but a final decision will depend on coronavirus test results of MLAs mandatory for attending house proceedingsThe Congress and the NCP are the other two constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA The BJP is trying to play politics over the issue by using the Governors office We dont care about such tactics The final decision on Speakers election will be made after coronavirus test results of all MLAs are received We support the stand taken by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in his reply to the Governors letter Patole saidThackeray on Friday wrote a letter to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari in which he defended the governments decision of holding the monsoon session of the legislature only for two days saying the duration cannot be extended in view of the prevailing coronavirus situationThe CM also appeared noncommittal on holding the assembly speakers election during the brief session saying there was no ldquotimeframerdquo for it Patole said the new speaker will be from the Congress party We will seek views from our legislators and convey their sentiment to the high command All the three allies trust their legislators and there is no truth in the opposition charge that the ruling alliance parties have issued a whip out of fear that their numbers on the floor of the house would come down the Congress leader saidThe speakers post fell vacant in February after Patole resigned to take over as the state Congress president Patole said the Congress was of the view that the states proposed amendments to the new agriculture laws enacted by the Centre shouldnt be carried out in a hasteThe MVA is of the view that the interest of farmers should remain paramount while preparing a foolproof law The central farm laws will not be implemented in Maharashtra The state will have its own law The draft will be put before people and farmers for their views and suggestions he saidAsked about the Maratha reservation issue Patole said with the Supreme Court rejecting a review petition of the Union government it is now clear the ball is in the Centres court to restore quota in jobs and education for the community The Supreme Court has dismissed the Centres plea seeking a review of the May 5 majority verdict which held that 102nd Constitution amendment took away states power to declare Socially and Educationally Backward Classes SEBC for grant of quota in jobs and admissionsThe 102nd Constitution amendment Act of 2018 inserted Articles 338B which deals with the structure duties and powers of the NCBC while 342A deals with power of the President to notify a particular caste as SEBC and power of Parliament to change the list The Modi government has taken away the right of states through the 102nd amendment to declare a community backward Due to this the 2018 quota law passed unanimously during the tenure of former BJP CM Devendra Fadnavis couldnt get approval from the Supreme CourtThe BJP is guilty of misleading the state legislature and the Maratha community Patole said hitting out at the opposition party in Maharashtra He accused the central government of using the ED and the CBI to instill fear among parties opposed to the BJP But we dont fear them Patole assertedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever