Eknath Shinde faction is the real Shiv Sena in Assembly and its MLAs cannot be held disqualified, ruled the Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar while deciding the disqualification petitions against the Chief Minister and several MLAs whose rebellion had split the Shiv Sena last year.
The Speaker further added that Eknath Shinde was validly appointed as leader of the Shiv Sena.
Uddhav Thackeray had no power to remove Eknath Shinde, said the Speaker, adding that Shiv Sena president doesn't hold the decision making powers but the Rashtriya Karyakarini.
The 1999 constitution of Shiv Sena, relied upon by Eknath Shinde, has been accepted, the Speaker added further.
In June 2022, Eknath Shinde and several MLAs rebelled against then-chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, leading to a split in the Sena and the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which also comprised the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress.
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Eknath Shinde said numbers are important in democracy, and the Shiv Sena led by him has the numbers as against the rival faction led by Uddhav Thackeray. Reacting to the Maharashtra assembly Speaker's ruling which said his faction was the real Shiv Sena, Shinde also said that the party chief's individual opinion cannot be the opinion of the entire party. Even the Election Commission of India allotted the name and symbol of the Shiv Sena to his party, he noted.
The decision of Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwkar, declaring the faction of the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as the real party, is a violation of Supreme Court order and is a "ploy to kill democracy". Speaking to reporters after the Speaker's announcement, Mr Thackeray also indicated that his Shiv Sena UBT faction may also file a challenge in court. Mr Narwekar, he alleged, was put in place by the Shinde faction.
The party will fight it legally, said Aaditya Thackeray, reacting to the Speaker's decision that the Shinde faction is the real Shiv Sena.
The Uddhav Thackeray camp has not provided any material to back their allegation that Shinde faction was acting in concert with the BJP, said the Speaker.
The Speaker based his decisions on the version of the constitution available with the Election Commission, saying it will form the basis of deciding on the leadership structure and from there, he would conclude which faction of the Shiv Sena should be considered the real party.
Eknath Shinde camp MLAs cannot be held disqualified, ruled Maharashtra Speaker deciding the disqualification petition against Chief Minister and his MLAs.
Eknath Shinde faction is the real Shiv Sena in Assembly, ruled the Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar while deciding the disqualification petitions against the Chief Minister and several MLAs whose rebellion had split the Shiv Sena last year. The Speaker further added that Eknath Shinde was validly appointed as leader of Shiv Sena.
"There is no consensus on the constitution submitted by both the parties (two factions of Shiv Sena) to the EC. 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....," said Rahul Narwekar, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker.
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.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday said numbers were stacked in favour of the Shiv Sena led by him as assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar is set to give a ruling on disqualification petitions filed by the two warring Sena factions. Even the Election Commission has recognised that the majority of Shiv Sena lawmakers were with his faction, Mr Shinde said.
In June 2022, Eknath Shinde and dozens of other Shiv Sena MLAs rebelled against then-chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, leading to a split in the Sena and fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition government. The Thackeray and Mr Shinde factions then filed petitions against each other's legislators, seeking disqualification under the anti-defection law. Of 56 MLAs of the undivided Shiv Sena, 40 are with Mr Shinde.
The Supreme Court last month extended the deadline to January 10 for Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar to decide on the cross-petitions filed by rival factions of the Shiv Sena seeking disqualification of each other's MLAs.
Uddhav Thackeray said his party filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on Tuesday objecting to a recent meeting between Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is among the MLAs whose disqualification has been sought, and speaker Rahul Narwekar as both sides engaged in a verbal spat.