Sena bid to discuss report thwarted

By Arunkumar Bhatt

MUMBAI, JULY 19. Mr. Arun Gujarathi, Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly, threw a spanner today in the plan of the Shiv Sena to go hammer and tongs against the Srikrishna Commission's report on the floor of the House to highlight ``the futility of action in the matter and the bias of the commission.''

The Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Narayan Rane of the Shiv Sena, had tabled a proposal for discussion under Rule 293 which alleged that the Government was initiating vindictive actions against Shiv Sena leaders, members and even police officers on the basis of the report.

Mr. Gujarathi rejected the notice and made it clear that he would not allow any discussion on the report and the commission's recommendations since a case was pending in the Supreme Court and several cases were filed (mainly against the Sena functionaries) in various courts of the State. Mr. Rane had to drop the reference to the commission from his notice and that reduced the proceedings to a general debate on the law and order when the house took it today.

Though Mr. Gujarathi ruled out a point of order that nothing sub judice it could be discussed in the House, he ensured that the Shrikrishna Commission got only a passing reference today in the speech of Mr. Rane who initiated the debate, levelling charges against the Congress-NCP-led Democratic Front government. This took the wind out of Mr. Rane's attack.

Mr. Rane had made elaborate arrangement to attack the Srikrishna report. He co-authored a book along with Mr. Balkrishna Joshi, a Shiv Sena member and lawyer who appeared before the commission for his party. The move had full backing of the BJP, its ally.

Last night, Mr. Bal Thackeray ceremonially released the book, Poorna Satya (the whole truth), at a dinner hosted by the BJP vice president and the party leader in the State, Mr. Gopinath Munde. The book was to serve as major ammunition for today's debate in the assembly.

To keep this powder dry, the Sena leaders decided not to distribute it among the legislators though it was released - lest its contents leak to the ruling parties.

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