Governor hurt, 5 Maharashtra Congress MLAs suspended amid fracas

Five Congress MLAs in Maharashtra were suspended on Wednesday for creating a ruckus in the state assembly during which Governor C Vidyasagar Rao was heckled and injured, further damaging the reputation of the former ruling party which has now been marginalised in the state as well as at the centre.

The MLAs have been suspended for two years, and this will further reduce the house strength of the Congress.

Speaking in the Assembly, revenue minister Eknath Khadse said Congress legislators Rahul Bondre, Amar Kale, Ranjit Kamble, Vijay Wadettiwar and Abdul Sattar "caused injuries" to two legislature officials as well as the Governor.

Khadse said he wanted to move a resolution suspending these members for unruly behaviour.

"The Governor's left hand was injured. The issue does not end with an apology. This should not be tolerated," Khadse said.

Congress leader in the House Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said there was no intention to cause hurt to anyone, but he would not apologise.

The developments came even as The Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government in Maharashtra may have won a trust vote by voice acclaim today (12 November) and also succeeded in installing a Speaker of its choice.

Congress MLAs continued shouting slogans during governor's speech. It was unclear if the Shiv Sena joined them in creating the ruckus. But the governor, apparently unfazed, continued with his speech despite Congress MLAs protesting in and out of the house – they had even blocked the governor's car.

"There was no poll held ... only people in the Assembly would be able to elaborate," Rahul Narvekar of the NCP said, referring to the BJP forming the government without a clear majority, though with the expressed support of Sharad Pawar's (and Narvekar's) Nationalist Congress Party.