Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar pronounces the verdict in Shiv Sena MLAs’ disqualification, in Mumbai on January 10, 2024
| Photo Credit: ANI
Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on January 10, held that the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led faction was the real Shiv Sena political party when rival factions emerged in 2022.
Both factions of the Shiv Sena party had filed cross-petitions seeking disqualification of each other’s MLAs following a split in the party. In June 2022, Mr. Shinde and several MLAs had rebelled against then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, leading to a split in the Sena and fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which also comprised the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress.
Rejecting Uddhav Thackeray faction’s request to disqualify 16 Shiv Sena MLAs including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Mr. Narwekar said there is no valid ground to disqualify them. No party leadership can use provision of 10th schedule for dissent or indiscipline within party, he added.
Also read: Explained | How did the Thackeray vs Shinde battle intensify after the EC order on Shiv Sena?
After the rebellion in June 2022, Mr. Shinde went on to become CM with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party. In July last year, the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party joined his government.
In his judgment, the Speaker also ruled that the conduct of the Shinde faction cannot attract disqualification, and that MLAs going incommunicado cannot be a ground for disqualification.
“Which faction is the real political party is discernible from the legislative majority which existed when the rival factions emerged,” Mr. Narwekar said, adding that this can be inferred from the Shinde faction resolutions from 2022 and the admitted position from the initiation of petitions against 38 legislators of Shinde by the UBT faction. “Petitions number 1 to 16 by Uddhav Thackeray faction are dismissed, Mr. Narwekar said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray said that verdict by Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar is not acceptable and the party will challenge it in the Supreme Court.
Mr. Narwekar, pronouncing the judgment said that he prima facie determined who is the political party as per the Supreme Court directives.” He considered the relevant constitution of Shiv Sena, and leadership structure while deciding which faction was the real political party when two factions emerged. Mr. Narwekar rejected Shiv Sena (UBT)‘s demand of considering amended constitution and gave the order on the basis of old and unamended constitution of 1999.
The Speaker said that no consensus on the party constitution was submitted to the Election Commission of India. The parties have different points of view. “The two parties have different points of views on leadership structure. The only aspect is the majority in the legislature party. I will have to decide the relevant constitution to be taken into account to the leadership structure that existed before the dispute.”
Speaking on the leadership structure, Mr. Narwekar held that Uddhav Thackeray had no power to remove Eknath Shinde from the post of the legislature party leader. Mr. Shinde’s decisions is an intra party dissent, he said.
The background
On May 11 last year, the Supreme Court ruled that Mr. Shinde would continue to be the Chief Minister of Maharashtra while stating that it could not reinstate the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government headed by Mr. Thackeray as the latter chose to resign without facing a floor test in the wake of Mr. Shinde’s rebellion.
However, the apex court had questioned then Governor B.S. Koshyari’s action of calling for a floor test in order to solve an intra-party dispute.
The Election Commission gave the ‘Shiv Sena’ name and ‘bow and arrow’ symbol to the Shinde-led faction, while the one headed by Thackeray was to be called Shiv Sena (UBT) with its symbol being a flaming torch.
Assembly polls in Maharashtra are due in the second half of 2024.
(With inputs from PTI)
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