OppOSITION bOycOTT Of maha cm’S TEa paRTy cONTINuES

Govt says it can think of proposal of the Speaker hosting the party from next time.

Since 2014, when the Devendra Fadnavis government came to power in Maharashtra, the Opposition has routinely boycotted the customary tea party hosted by the Chief Minister on the eve of every legislative session. The informal meeting is an occasion of ice-breaking and bonhomie between the ruling parties and the Opposition. This ongoing winter session in Nagpur is the government’s fifth session in legislature since coming to power in 2014. And this time again, the Opposition declared a day before the beginning of the session that it would boycott the tea party. Led by the Congress and the NCP, it accused the government of being inactive towards various issues suffered by the farmers and the poor. It said that the government had increased the woes of the people by bringing in shoddily implemented demonetisation.

“It is true that the news of the Opposition attending the tea party becomes routine, whereas the news of parties not attending it makes headlines. These tea parties are anyway mere tokenism,” senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan said. The government said it can think of the proposal whereby the Speaker of the Lower House hosts the tea party. “What can we say if the Opposition finds the Speaker’s sugar sweeter than the government’s sugar?” remarked Cabinet minister Sudhir Mungantiwar.

While the Opposition maintained that the tea parties were insignificant in terms of any legislative work being done, the Shiv Sena had a completely different take. Known to be at loggerheads with its ruling ally BJP at various times since the formation of the coalition government, the party was sceptical about the Opposition announcing the boycott of the customary tea party hosted by the CM.

“These Opposition leaders show that they boycott the CM’s tea party, but many of them are seen to be close to the CM. They are known to meet the CM informally, regularly, in his office and seek favours from him. What is the point of these pretences in public?” asked a senior Shiv Sena leader.

“Even we used to boycott tea parties hosted by the CM at times when we were in the Opposition. It is symbolic. But this Opposition seems to be in a mood to ensure that no work happens in the legislature. Since they are still hurt about being ousted from power, their focus is on seeking the government’s resignation for everything,” said Neelam Gorhe, senior Shiv Sena leader.

Senior Congress leader and former CM of Maharashtra, Prithviraj Chavan had a different take. “The tea parties don’t matter. They are mere tokenism. It is just bonhomie before the actual session. Hardly any serious work gets done. But when the Opposition decides to boycott it, it makes a political statement by giving out reasons for not doing so. Otherwise, it is insignificant,” he said.

Cabinet Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar rued that such stunts, rather than serious legislative work, gain more publicity in the me- dia. “The session is held to discuss the woes faced by the people. It is a platform to discuss the issues facing our society. But those who do good work during legislative proceedings, bring up issues, make speeches, barely get any publicity or space in the media. The Opposition knows it will grab more space in the media by boycotting these tea parties. See, there is certain significance attached to this custom. It isn’t a kitty party. It is organised so that the CM and the Opposition come together and talk about the issues to be discussed during the Session,” he told The Sunday Guardian.