The Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena on Monday approached the Supreme Court challenging the decision of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to allot the party name ‘Shiv Sena’ and the symbol ‘Bow and Arrow’ to the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, reported Live Law.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi today mentioned the matter before Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, who asked Singhvi to mention the matter on Tuesday.
A Constitution bench of the top court is currently hearing cases related to the Shiv Sena row. The five-judge bench had on Friday, while deferring to hear the plea on the reconsideration of the 2016 Nabam Rebia judgment to a larger seven-judge bench, said that the case needs to heard based on “merits”. The top court will hear the matter tomorrow.
The apex court needs to decide on the dispute over the powers of the Deputy Speaker to disqualify rebel Sena MLAs, when a notice for his own removal was given.
The ECI on Friday decided that the Shiv Sena faction led by Shinde was the “real” Shiv Sena as opposed to the Thackeray-led faction, and said that the party’s ‘bow and arrow’ symbol will be retained by the Shinde camp.
Meanwhile, the EC also ordered that the name and symbol that had been allotted to the Shinde camp last year as an interim measure, which were Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena and ‘two swords and a shield’ respectively, would be frozen and not used anymore.
Lashing out at EC and Shinde, former CM Uddhav Thackeray had said, “They (Shinde faction) have stolen our Bow and Arrow symbol, but people will avenge this theft.” Targetting the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government of misusing central agencies, Thackeray had accused the poll body of “acting like a slave”, reported The Indian Express.
The EC relied on the test of majority, which the Shinde camp was able to prove, having the support of 40 out of 67 MLAs and MLCs in Maharashtra, and 13 out of 22 MPs in both Houses of Parliament.