A delegation of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to discuss granting the Leader of Opposition position to the MVA. “We hope the government will consider this proposal positively,” Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Nana Patole said in Mumbai on Sunday.
“Maharashtra’s legislative tradition suggests that the Speaker’s post be unopposed and the Deputy Speaker’s position be given to the opposition. In the Delhi Assembly, despite the BJP having only three members, the Aam Aadmi Party granted the BJP the position of Leader of the Opposition,” Patole said.
Patole said that the Election Commission (EC) and the Supreme Court must take note of the public demand for voting by paper ballots.
Patole said there was widespread confusion among the public about the new state government, with a strong sentiment that this government does not reflect their mandate.
“This sentiment is not confined to Markadwadi but resonates across villages in Maharashtra. There is a growing public demand for voting through ballot papers, with village sabhas passing resolutions to this effect. Therefore the Election Commission and the Supreme Court should take cognizance of this public sentiment”.
Speaking to the media in the legislature premises, Congress State President Nana Patole stated, “If voters have doubts about whether their vote goes to the candidate of their choice, these doubts must be resolved. The residents of Markadwadi had resolved to conduct a mock poll using ballot papers, but the government, with the help of the Election Commission and police administration, suppressed their efforts and filed charges against them. The Election Commission must answer how 7.6 million votes were added, but they are failing to provide a satisfactory explanation. Manipulating votes is akin to the daylight murder of democracy.
”If such dissatisfaction arises in a democracy, it must be addressed. As the opposition, we will fight for this demand both in the legislature and on the streets,” Patole said.