The arrest of Anil Deshmukh, the MSRTC agitation, the OBC quota, and the NCB might indeed shake Maharashtra's winter session

Issues in the state continue to rise ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections in 2022. The Maharashtra legislature's winter session, which runs from December 22 to 28, is expected to be tense, as the opposing party BJP attempts to sideline the Shiv Sena-led state government on several issues, including that of the OBC reservation impasse, the currently underway MSRTC workers' strike, and the arrest of former minister Anil Deshmukh, among others. The Maratha quota concern, COVID-19 management in light of the emergence of the Omicron variant, issues surrounding Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan's arrest in a drugs case, and the Narcotics Control Bureau's zonal officer Sameer Wankhede's caste credentials are all highly probable to roil both Houses of the legislature.

The winter session in Maharashtra is traditionally considered in Nagpur, the state's second capital, but due to the epidemic, it is being held in Mumbai for the second year in a straight. Anil Deshmukh, a former Home Minister and NCP leader who resigned from the government in April after being accused of corruption, was detained in November by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money-laundering case. Deshmukh and others were charged after the CBI arrested him in a corruption case involving charges of bribery worth at least Rs 100 crores levelled by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh, who was sacked by the state government earlier this month.

During the winter session, the BJP is likely to utilize the arrest of Deshmukh and the suspension of Param Bir Singh to criticise the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, which is led by Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress. NCP minister Nawab Malik has been attacking NCB officer Wankhede, who led a raid on a cruise ship off the coast of Mumbai in October this year, where it allegedly seized cocaine during a raid on a cruise ship off the coast of Mumbai, after which Aryan and others were arrested. Malik singled out Wankhede, stating that he was born a Muslim but obtained his employment in the Scheduled Castes quota through the use of a forged caste certificate. Wankhede rejected the allegations, and his father sued Malik for defamation. This recurring topic will almost certainly come up during the meeting. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who has resumed official duties following cervical spine surgery, is expected to attend the proceedings, and the BJP is planning to criticise him for not being present.

Image Courtsey: @CMOMaharashtra