Aurangzeb tomb row, Disha Salian murder, Kamra's traitor jibe: What dominated Maharashtra budget session

The Budget Session was in the news for several issues—except the budget.

Any incumbent political party would like legislative sessions to be conducted in the same manner as the Budget Session of the Maharashtra legislature over the past three weeks. The issues that dominated the floors of this bicameral legislature rescued the Mahayuti government from some uncomfortable and embarrassing developments. The Budget Session was in the news for several issues—except the budget.

The session began on March 3 with an uproar over a soundbite by the Maharashtra chief of the Samajwadi Party, praising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, to a news agency. This led to a commotion in the Vidhan Sabha, ultimately resulting in Azmi’s suspension for the rest of the session. Two criminal cases were also filed against him. Politicians took on the role of historians, with cabinet minister Nitesh Rane claiming there were no Muslims in Chhatrapati Shivaji’s army. He was countered by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar.

Real historians, too, became part of the ongoing political discourse. Prashant Koratkar, a Nagpur-based journalist, was accused of threatening historian Indrajit Sawant and making derogatory comments against Chhatrapati Shivaji and Chhatrapati Sambhaji. The issue led to a clamor from the opposition for Koratkar’s arrest. He initially went absconding but was ultimately arrested on March 24.

While the legislature was in session, a few saffron organizations demanded the demolition of Aurangzeb’s tomb near Sambhajinagar.

Demonstrations were held across the state for this purpose. During one such demonstration in Nagpur, a rumor spread that a sacred religious text printed on a dummy tomb had been burned. The rumor ignited a riot in which several people were injured, one man died, and numerous vehicles were torched.

The riots in Nagpur—a city without any significant history of communal clashes—were an embarrassment for the Mahayuti government. What added insult to injury was that Nagpur is the constituency of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also in charge of the home portfolio. The RSS headquarters is also located in Nagpur. The opposition seized the opportunity to target Fadnavis, questioning his capabilities as Home Minister. The riots were followed by arrests, and the house of a key accused was demolished, sparking another controversy.

While the opposition cornered the government over the breakdown of law and order in Nagpur, the case of Disha Salian’s death resurfaced. Satish Salian, father of Disha—who worked as actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s manager—filed a petition in the Bombay High Court, claiming his daughter was murdered and that Aditya Thackeray, Suraj Pancholi, former Police Commissioner Parambir Singh, and arrested cop Sachin Waze conspired to cover up the case. Disha had fallen to her death from the 14th-floor apartment of her fiancé in June 2020. Earlier, her father had stated that he did not suspect foul play. His fresh stance led to an uproar in the Assembly—this time by ruling party legislators demanding Aditya Thackeray’s resignation. BJP leader and Minister of Ports Nitesh Rane has claimed multiple times over the last five years that he possesses evidence related to Disha’s murder, yet he has never submitted it to the CBI or the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

During the session, Rane also made headlines for his provocative speeches. He made statements against “halal meat” and urged people to eat only “Malhar-certified” meat. The use of the word “Malhar” in reference to meat hurt the sentiments of a community and sparked another controversy.

The concluding week of the Budget Session was consumed by the controversy over comedian Kunal Kamra's satirical video on deputy CM Eknath Shinde. The video laced with expletive attracted a criminal case against Kamra and the Shiv Sainiks demolished the Habitat hall where the purported video was recorded.

All these issues that dominated the Budget Session helped the Mahayuti government sidestep uncomfortable questions. Minister Dhananjay Munde’s resignation from the cabinet was one such issue. He had to resign after his confidante, Valmiki Karad, was accused of orchestrating the brutal murder of a sarpanch in Beed. Munde was also accused of corruption by social activist Anjali Damania. However, his resignation at the beginning of the Budget Session was overshadowed by the Aurangzeb controversy.

Similarly, the opposition’s plan to grill the government over the Ladki Bahin Yojana was also neutralized. The constituent parties of Mahayuti had promised to increase the payout from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100 after coming to power. However, no such provision was made in the budget. DCM Ajit Pawar, who is also the Finance Minister, bluntly stated that he never promised any such increase.

The Budget Session was conducted without a Leader of Opposition in the Vidhan Sabha. The Shiv Sena (UBT), being the largest opposition party, had proposed Bhaskar Jadhav’s name, but no decision was taken on it.