Ahead Of Big Verdict Today, Eknath Shinde Justifies Meeting Maharashtra Speaker

Under attack from the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena over the meeting between him and Speaker Rahul Narwekar ahead of the latter's verdict on the disqualification of MLAs on Wednesday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said the opposition is making baseless allegations because they are worried the order is going to go against them.

Referring to a meeting between Mr Narwekar and Mr Shinde at the chief minister's residence over the weekend, Uddhav Thackeray had said that it was akin to a "judge meeting a criminal" ahead of a verdict. Pointing out that this was especially inappropriate since the chief minister is one of the MLAs whose disqualification has been sought, his party has also approached the Supreme Court. 

Reacting to these comments, Mr Shinde said in Hindi, "They are restless. They are making baseless allegations because they can see their impending defeat. If a verdict goes in their favour, they have good things to say. If there was some sort of match-fixing, the Assembly Speaker would have come at night. He visited me during the day, in his official vehicle. It was an official meeting."

"Work is underway in Mr Narwekar's constituency (Colaba) relating to the coastal road and Marine Drive. He came to discuss those issues with me in my capacity as the chief minister. He is the Speaker, but he is also an MLA. They (Thackeray faction) say we are indulging in unconstitutional acts but they are the ones actually doing them. The Supreme Court has also said that we are the ones with the majority and upheld the Governor's decision," he said.

Mr Shinde said the issue being adjudicated by Mr Narwekar is a civil matter, not a criminal one. Asked about the comments by senior Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, he said, "Let him be. I have other people for him."

Order Today

Speaker Narwekar is expected to give his verdict on the disqualification petitions filed by both the Thackeray and Shinde factions of the Shiv Sena. The party had split in June 2022, following a rebellion by Mr Shinde and other MLAs, leading to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi Government in the state. 

Mr Shinde had joined hands with the BJP to form the government, which was later strengthened with the inclusion of the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party in July last year. The Shinde faction of the Sena, which has been allotted the Shiv Sena name and the 'bow and arrow' symbol, has 40 MLAs, while the Uddhav Thackeray faction has 16.