R R Patil's comment angers MLAs

Mumbai, July 18 (UNI) MLAs cutting across party lines, who complained about breach of their privileges by government officials, were angered by the comments of Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil and forced three adjournments of the House.

Dilip Mohite (NCP) said MLAs suffered ill-treatment at the hands of police most of the times. ''If we call the police station, it is noted in the station diary and submitted to the courts,'' he said.

To which, Mr Patil, who also holds the Home portfolio remarked to this ''If phone calls for wrong reasons are made, the notings will be made in the station diary. Hence, members should refrain from doing so. Members should not be worried about their calls being noted in the diary, if their intentions are good.'' This enraged the members from both sides who rushed near the Speaker's podium to register their protest. Speaker Babasaheb Kupekar adjourned the House first for 20 minutes and later Presiding officer Girish Bapat adjourned the House for 15 minutes and later for 30 minutes.

The issue figured after the Question Hour when Wamanrao Chatap of Swatantra Bharat Paksha said he wanted to move a breach of privilege notice against the tehsildar and sub-divisional officer of Rajura in his constituency for not inviting him during the government compensation cheque distribution function organised by the local administration.

''Although I am the sitting MLA, a former MLA was invited and I consider this as my insult,'' he said. To which, Speaker Babasaheb Kupekar said he too had faced similar experiences. ''The divisional commissioner does not take my calls,'' he lamented.

At this, BJP member Eknath Khadse said such conduct of a divisional commissioner was an insult to the entire House and he wanted to move a breach of privilege notice. More than 29 members of the House from both sides stood up in support of the notice. Mr Kupekar said he was accepting the notice considering the fact that the issue concerns the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

Later, Janardan Chandurkar, Bhai Jagtap, and Chandrakant Chhajed (Congress), Shambhuraje Desai (Shiv Sena), and Raj Purohit (BJP) spoke about the need to enact a law to define the privileges of an MLA and ensure its strict implementation. Mr Desai said Opposition MLAs bore the brunt of the officials' apathy the most.

Raj Purohit said bureaucrats do not spare even ministers and often ridicule them behind their backs.

UNI