Opposition to attend tea party on eve of Budget Session

Mumbai, March 13 (UNI) BJP today decided to attend the customary tea party, which they had boycotted for the past three years.

Maharashtra BJP President Nitin Gadkari told reporters here the opposition had decided to attend the tea party held on the eve of the Budget Session, and raise issues pertaining to the deteriorating law and order situation in the State and also the Tasgaon incident, where two government officials were suspended for their biased approach.

Mr Gadkari said the party would approach Chief Election Commissioner and demand a CBI probe instead of a CID inquiry into the Tasgaon incident, where a Shiv Sena candidate had filed an FIR against Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil, threatening him to withdraw his nominations for the local polls there, which he later retracted and said he made the statement under pressure from BJP leader Prakash Jawadekar.

He said the CID inquiry had no base as Mr Patil himself was heading the Home department and the probe would not be impartial.

Hence there should be a CBI probe, Mr Gadkari reasoned.

Reacting to the Tasgaon controversy, Mr Gadkari said NCP terror was so much so that apart from Sena-BJP, even the Congress could not field their candidates.

Mr Gadkari also alleged that the recently concluded local body elections in the State were not free and fair. He said Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and senior minister Patangrao Kadam had voiced concern over the alleged misuse of police machinery.

Apart from this, Mr Kadam said issues of farmers suicide, power scarcity, irrigation, objection to SEZ in Raigad will be raised during the budget session.

BJP group leader Eknath Khadse said law and order situation was deteriorating in the State and cited the murder of BJP leader in Pimpri Chinchwad.

Meanwhile, NCP spokesman Madan Bafna opposed the demand seeking a CBI probe and ridiculed the opposition for not having faith in State police machinery.

When this statement was brought to Bafna's notice, he said ''If they think Mr Patil is instrumental in the misuse, Congress should withdraw from the government.'' UNI