State panel to look into Sena legislators’ demand for funds

To pacify an irate Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party (Bjp)-led Maharashtra government has decided to set up a committee of two ministers each from the Sena and the BJP to ensure that legislators’ demands for funds required to undertake works in their constituencies are promptly met.

The move comes after Shiv Sena legislators grilled the party’s ministers in the Devendra Fadnavis-led government’s cabinet, asking them why they could not avail of additional finances through various government schemes, though the same funds were made available to BJP legislators. The ministers said they

are not given an adequate say in the Bjp-led government. Following this, they immediately sought

an audience with the chief minister and led a delegation of the party’s rural legislators to his

official bungalow, Varsha.

Shiv Sena’s Subhash Desai, state industries minister, said, “Legislators from the state’s rural areas were unhappy as their proposals for roads works and other works did not get passed. The Shiv Sena had raised this issue earlier too. We met the chief minister with a delegation to complain about the issue earlier, but nothing has changed in the past few months. Now, Fadnavis has decided to set up a committee of BJP and Sena ministers to ensure that the legislators’ demands are screened and resolved speedily.”

The government is, however, yet to name the ministers who will form the panel.

The Shiv Sena, a junior partner in the state government, has had choppy relations with its ally. The party has five cabinet ministers and seven ministers of state.