Maharashtra assembly has given about two months’ extension to the privilege committee to decide if Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami and Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut are guilty of breach of privilege. If found guilty, they can both face punishment, ranging from a warning to imprisonment. The panel will also ask them to state their side before taking any decision.
Ranaut is accused of “defaming Mumbai” after she likened Mumbai with Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and stated that she feared living in the city. Similar motion was initiated against Goswami for his alleged derogatory remarks against State chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.
On the second day of the State legislature’s ongoing session on Tuesday, Shiv Sena legislator Deepak Kesarkar, who heads the Assembly’s privileges committee, sought time till the last day of the budget session, likely to start in the second week of February. The request was approved by the lower house.
However, many BJP leaders opposed the motion, saying Goswami and Ranaut didn’t fit in the rules enacted for breach of privilege motion. Speaker Nana Patole, however, felt that the matter concerning the insult of the chief minister of the state should be taken seriously. The proposal for extension was passed in the assembly by voice vote.
