The Maharashtra legislature session commenced on Thursday, June 27, with a heated start as opposition members protested against concerns surrounding the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET UG) exam and issues affecting farmers. Members of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and NCP (SP), voiced their dissent against the government, raising slogans and displaying placards. The protests were fueled by allegations of irregularities in the NEET exam, which was administered by the National Testing Agency on May 5.
The day before the session began, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis criticized the opposition, accusing them of “creating fake narratives.” He claimed that most of the alleged paper leaks occurred during the period when Uddhav Thackeray served as the state’s Chief Minister. Fadnavis launched a sharp attack, stating, “After gaining some votes through fabricated narratives, I believe the opposition has developed a habit of spreading lies. We will expose this factory of fake narratives in the upcoming assembly session.”
The BJP-led Mahayuti government held a press conference on June 26 to address the impending monsoon session. The opposition alliance boycotted Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s traditional pre-session tea party on Wednesday, accusing the government of neglecting the people’s issues.
The session, scheduled to run from June 27 to July 12 in Mumbai, will see the ruling Mahayuti alliance present the state budget in both houses of the legislature on June 28. An interim budget was presented in February before the Lok Sabha elections.
