Eknath Shinde Camp Challenges Speaker's Decision Not To Disqualify Team Thackeray MLAs

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena has moved the Bombay High Court challenging the decision taken by the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker to not disqualify 14 MLAs belonging to the rival faction headed by former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.

Petitions filed on January 12 by Bharat Gogavale, the chief whip of the ruling Shiv Sena against the 14 MLAs, said they were challenging the "legality, propriety and correctness" of the January 10 order passed by Speaker Rahul Narwekar dismissing the disqualification petitions submitted by him against the rival camp Assembly members.

In the petitions, Mr Gogavale maintained the Thackeray group MLAs not only violated the whip but also voluntarily gave up the membership of the Shiv Sena political party by their acts and omissions following a split in June 2022.

The pleas claimed the Speaker had failed to consider that along with giving up the membership, the (Sena-UBT) members also voted against the Shiv Sena-led government in cahoots with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), thereby seeking to topple the ruling dispensation.

As per the high court's website, Mr Gogavale's petitions would be taken up for hearing on January 22.

While Gogavale moved the High Court on January 12, the Thackeray faction on Monday filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Speaker's order declaring the Sena group led by Chief Minister Shinde as the "real political party" after its split in June 2022.

The Speaker had also rejected the Thackeray faction's plea to disqualify 16 MLAs of the ruling camp, including Mr Shinde. 

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