Ex-Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray slammed Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Tuesday and his Shiv Sena (UBT) moved the Supreme Court after visuals of the latter’s meeting with CM Eknath Shinde at his official residence went viral. The two had also met in October.
Uddhav Sena objected to the meeting ahead of the verdict in the Shiv Sena MLA disqualification case. It is “highly improper” for the Speaker to meet Eknath Shinde just three days before deciding the disqualification petitions filed against Shinde, the application filed by Sunil Prabhu of Thackeray camp stated, ANI reported.
“How can the ‘judge’ in any case meet one of the parties (in private) before giving the judgment?” the Uddhav Thackeray camp asked the court, adding, “It is highly inappropriate…”
“Under the Tenth Schedule, the Speaker, as adjudicating authority must act in a fair and impartial manner. The speaker’s conduct must inspire confidence… However, his current actions raise questions about the fairness and impartiality of the decision-making process,” the Sena (UBT) group said.
Also Read: Uddhav Sena moves Supreme Court seeking expeditious decision on disqualification of rebel MLAs
Thackeray’s group called the visit “a violation of the legal maxim that justice should not only be done, but should also be seen to be done…”
Maharashtra political crisis
Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar is likely to give his verdict by 4pm on Wednesday filed by rival factions of the Sena, one led by Thackeray and the other by Shinde, each seeking disqualification of MLAs from the other side. Eknath Shinde’s rebellion led to a split in the Shiv Sena in June 2022.
Narwekar’s ruling will add another chapter to the political crisis in Maharashtra, which began in June last year after Shinde and a bunch of MLAs defected to the BJP, leading to a split in the Shiv Sena and collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) which also comprised the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress.
After the rebellion in June 2022, Shinde became the Chief Minister with the Bharatiya Janata Party’s support.
Both the Sena factions then staked a claim for the party name and symbol. The Election Commission had allotted 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 a flaming torch as its symbol.
Then, in July last year, the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP also joined his government.
The Speaker was given a December 31 deadline by the Supreme Court to announce his verdict on the petitions, but shortly before the deadline, the Speaker’s office wrangled a 10-day extension, claiming “lakhs of pages of documents” still had to be read and analysed before a final decision.
The top court had warned Narwekar – who initially sought time till February 29, months before the state holds another Assembly election – against continuing to stall this matter, particularly since it had told him, on May 11 of last year, to rule on the various petitions within a “reasonable time”.
Cross-petitions – 34 of them – have been filed by the Thackeray and Shinde factions of the Shiv Sena, as well as Sharad Pawar’s NCP, demanding the disqualification of 56 Maharashtra lawmakers.
(With inputs from ANI)