Nagpur:
Members of the ruling alliance and the opposition in Maharashtra may not have found any consensus over what the financial package to distressed farmers in the state should be. But some of them seem to have found common ground over which movie to watch. On Thursday, another day of the winter session of the Maharashtra assembly was adjourned at 2 pm over differences on the financial package which is being given to farmers.
The opposition Shiv Sena and the BJP walked out of the assembly and it seems they almost walked straight into a multiplex in Nagpur to watch a 6pm show of The Dirty Picture. And they weren't alone. Members of the ruling Congress and the NCP, including some Ministers, too reportedly went to watch the Vidya Balan movie. There were about 25 MLAs in all.
Ironically, the opposition had called for a bandh on Thursday in neighboring districts to protest against the financial package.
Sources at the multiplex said some of the legislators changed their plans once they realised that word had spread and a crowd, including the media, had gathered outside. So, those who could, watched the Tom Cruise-starrer Mission: Impossible and Ladies vs Ricky Bahl instead of The Dirty Picture in an attempt to avoid embarrassing questions about their choice of movie. Some others reportedly ended up watching two movies back to back in their anxiety to avoid the media.
Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik, who had gone to the same multiplex to watch the 8 pm show of Mission: Impossible, said that he met some MLAs from the Congress and the NCP. They had just finished watching The Dirty Picture but instead of leaving the building, they stayed on and watched the Tom Cruise-starrer with him since camera crews were waiting outside, said Mr Sarnaik. "I asked them, why are you afraid?" he said.
The timing of the MLAs' decision to watch a movie has raised eyebrows since many feel that they would have been better off spending that time trying to resolve the farmers' issue.