Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday proposed a panel of senior members of the Maharashtra Legislature to probe the audio clip that allegedly featured the name of Leader of Opposition in the Council, Dhananjay Munde.

Fadnavis said in the Legislative Assembly that it was a serious issue as the audio clip purportedly casts aspersions on the functioning of the Legislature and lowers its dignity.

A Marathi news channel had last week allegedly aired an audio clip in which it was purportedly claimed that Munde, a senior NCP leader, had stalled a Calling Attention Motion in the Legislative Council for a bribe.

Munde had rubbished the accusations against him and alleged it was a tactic adopted by the government to divert peoples&#39;&nbsp;attention from &quot;core issues&quot; plaguing the state.

Fadnavis on Monday said, &quot;We need to protect the dignity of the Legislature.&quot;

&quot;I suggest that a committee comprising the Assembly speaker, the Legislative Council Chairman and the leaders of opposition in the Upper and the Lower House should probe the issue so that the dignity of the legislature is protected&quot;, he said.

He added that the police case in the matter will be probed separately.

NCP leader Ajit Pawar said he agreed with the suggestion and asked the Chair to tell the members from the treasury benches to get back to their seats so that the day&#39;s proceedings could be conducted.

The leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil then raised the issue of the revocation of suspension of BJP-backed independent MLC Prashant Paricharak.

To this, Fadnavis said there was no need to politicise all issues.

&quot;In this (Munde) case, even we can bring politics. But I am suggesting a way out to uphold the dignity of the Legislature,&quot; Fadnavis said.

As members from the treasury benches came into the well demanding suspension of Dhananjay Munde, Speaker Haribhau Bagde took up the motion to thank Governor C&nbsp;Vidyasagar Rao for his address to the joint sitting of the state Legislature on the first day of the budget session.

Amid the din, the motion was passed without a discussion on it and sans a reply from the Chief Minister.

The speaker then adjourned the House for the day.

Paricharak was suspended from the state Legislative Council in March last year after he joked during an election campaign about the wives of soldiers.

The legislator had later apologized for his statement.

The state government had last week revoked his suspension.

A Marathi news channel had last week allegedly aired an audio clip in which it was purportedly claimed that Munde, a senior NCP leader, had stalled a Calling Attention Motion in the Legislative Council for a bribe

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday proposed a panel of senior members of the Maharashtra Legislature to probe the audio clip that allegedly featured the name of Leader of Opposition in the Council, Dhananjay Munde. Fadnavis said in the Legislative Assembly that it was a serious issue as the audio clip purportedly casts aspersions on the functioning of the Legislature and lowers its dignity. A Marathi news channel had last week allegedly aired an audio clip in which it was purportedly claimed that Munde, a senior NCP leader, had stalled a Calling Attention Motion in the Legislative Council for a bribe. Munde had rubbished the accusations against him and alleged it was a tactic adopted by the government to divert peoples' attention from "core issues" plaguing the state. Fadnavis on Monday said, "We need to protect the dignity of the Legislature." "I suggest that a committee comprising the Assembly speaker, the Legislative Council Chairman and the leaders of opposition in the Upper and the Lower House should probe the issue so that the dignity of the legislature is protected", he said. He added that the police case in the matter will be probed separately. NCP leader Ajit Pawar said he agreed with the suggestion and asked the Chair to tell the members from the treasury benches to get back to their seats so that the day's proceedings could be conducted. The leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil then raised the issue of the revocation of suspension of BJP-backed independent MLC Prashant Paricharak. To this, Fadnavis said there was no need to politicise all issues. "In this (Munde) case, even we can bring politics. But I am suggesting a way out to uphold the dignity of the Legislature," Fadnavis said. As members from the treasury benches came into the well demanding suspension of Dhananjay Munde, Speaker Haribhau Bagde took up the motion to thank Governor C Vidyasagar Rao for his address to the joint sitting of the state Legislature on the first day of the budget session. Amid the din, the motion was passed without a discussion on it and sans a reply from the Chief Minister. The speaker then adjourned the House for the day. Paricharak was suspended from the state Legislative Council in March last year after he joked during an election campaign about the wives of soldiers. The legislator had later apologized for his statement. The state government had last week revoked his suspension.

Munde audio clip: Chief Minister suggests probe by House Panel

NCP leader Dhananjay Munde today blamed the Congress for his party going solo in the just-concluded Gujarat polls but did not rule out an alliance with it for the general elections in 2019.

He said the NCP had demanded six seats in Gujarat, but the Congress did not agree to it.

&quot;The NCP had demanded six seats in Gujarat. As per my information, (NCP chief) Sharad Pawar and (then Congress president) Sonia Gandhi had agreed on seat-sharing. But on the next day, the Congress announced its list of the seats, which we were going to contest,&quot; Munde told reporters here ahead of the state&#39;s Legislature&#39;s sitting for the day.

&quot;This is how the Congress treated us and the NCP decided to go ahead. Now they should not blame us,&quot; he said.

The Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Council was responding to a question about the NCP playing &#39;spoiler&#39; in the Gujarat elections.

In the 182-member Gujarat assembly, the BJP retained power by bagging 99 seats, while the Congress got 77 seats. The NCP emerged victorious on one seat.

Asked if the NCP and the Congress will join hands for the next general and Maharashtra assembly polls, Munde said, &quot;My hunch is that the BJP will hold the assembly elections along with general elections, which will be held in the summer of 2019.&quot;

&quot;The workers of both the parties (Congress and NCP) are talking about the possibility of the alliance before the elections. Top leaders of both the parties are aware of such expectations. It will take some time to decide on the alliance,&quot; he said.

Commenting on the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, Munde said it is clear that the two parties are not very comfortable with each other.

&quot;The way the BJP is treating the Sena, I don&#39;t think they will contest together. Whereas both the Congress and the NCP are likely to contest general and assembly elections together,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

In the 182-member Gujarat assembly, the BJP retained power by bagging 99 seats, while the Congress got 77 seats. The NCP emerged victorious on one seat.

NCP leader Dhananjay Munde today blamed the Congress for his party going solo in the just-concluded Gujarat polls but did not rule out an alliance with it for the general elections in 2019. He said the NCP had demanded six seats in Gujarat, but the Congress did not agree to it. "The NCP had demanded six seats in Gujarat. As per my information, (NCP chief) Sharad Pawar and (then Congress president) Sonia Gandhi had agreed on seat-sharing. But on the next day, the Congress announced its list of the seats, which we were going to contest," Munde told reporters here ahead of the state's Legislature's sitting for the day. "This is how the Congress treated us and the NCP decided to go ahead. Now they should not blame us," he said. The Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Council was responding to a question about the NCP playing 'spoiler' in the Gujarat elections. In the 182-member Gujarat assembly, the BJP retained power by bagging 99 seats, while the Congress got 77 seats. The NCP emerged victorious on one seat. Asked if the NCP and the Congress will join hands for the next general and Maharashtra assembly polls, Munde said, "My hunch is that the BJP will hold the assembly elections along with general elections, which will be held in the summer of 2019." "The workers of both the parties (Congress and NCP) are talking about the possibility of the alliance before the elections. Top leaders of both the parties are aware of such expectations. It will take some time to decide on the alliance," he said. Commenting on the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, Munde said it is clear that the two parties are not very comfortable with each other. "The way the BJP is treating the Sena, I don't think they will contest together. Whereas both the Congress and the NCP are likely to contest general and assembly elections together," he said.

NCP says Congress did not respond to its poll tie-up call in Gujarat

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Munde audio clip: Chief Minister suggests probe by House Panel

NCP says Congress did not respond to its poll tie-up call in Gujarat