Mr. Thackeray has also challenged the appointment of Eknath Shinde as Chief Minister. Another petition has challenged Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s decision to invite Mr. Shinde to form the government.
New Delhi: Amid the ongoing tussle for the control of Shiv Sena, the Uddhav Thackeray camp is set to seek an urgent hearing by Supreme Court on the petitions related to the Maharashtra political turmoil.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal(former Congress leader) and Abhishek Manu Singhvi,(congress leader) who are appearing for the Uddhav Thackeray camp in the apex court, are likely to flag the matter today.
The top court had earlier said that all pleas related to the political crisis would be heard on July 11. Team Thackeray is going to argue that despite four judicial orders in petitions, the matter was not listed for hearing today.
Shiv Sena national spokesperson and Uddhav Thackeray loyalist Sanjay Raut said the petitions are a “big test” for the ‘free and fair’ judiciary”.
“The question is not about the survival of Shinde govt… the larger question is about the survival of Democracy… It’s also a big test for the ‘free and fair’ Judiciary….!” Mr. Raut’s tweet read.
The question is not about the survival of Shinde govt… the larger question is about the survival of Democracy…
It's also a big test for the 'free and fair' Judiciary….!@LiveLawIndia @PMOIndia @priyankagandhi @MamataOfficial @indSupremeCourt @PawarSpeaks
@ pic.twitter.com/gMQNl2N6Ca— Sanjay Raut (@rautsanjay61) July 11, 2022
The SC is hearing a clutch of petitions from the camps led by Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who led the revolt against the Shiv Sena chief and toppled his government.
The pleas before the court include one related to the pending disqualification notices to 15 legislators in the Shinde faction. The notices were issued by Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal (NCP) as the Assembly did not have a Speaker then.
In another petition, Sunil Prabhu, who was appointed Chief Whip by the team Thackeray, has sought that Mr. Shinde and 15 MLAs of his camp be suspended from the assembly.
The Maharashtra Legislature Secretary Rajendra Bhagwat has told the court that Rahul Narwekar(BJP) has now been elected Speaker, and he would look into the matter of disqualification. The Supreme Court, has said, should dispose of the MLAs’ petition challenging the disqualification notices issued by the Deputy Speaker.
Mr. Thackeray has also challenged the appointment of Eknath Shinde as Chief Minister. Another petition has challenged Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s decision to invite Mr. Shinde to form the government.
The faction led by Mr. Thackeray has also opposed the decision of newly-elected Speaker Rahul Narwekar to recognize Bharat Gogawale of the Shinde camp as Sena’s new Chief Whip in the Assembly.
Challenging the disqualification notices, the Shinde camp has claimed that it is the “real” Shiv Sena because it has two-thirds of party legislators in the Assembly.
Team Thackeray has argued that these legislators must be disqualified as per provisions of the anti-defection law as they have not merged with the BJP but have conspired with them to bring down an elected government.
Mr. Thackeray, who tendered his resignation as Maharastra Chief Minister last month, has contended that the rebels can’t claim to represent the Shiv Sena.
“The original Shiv Sena political party remains under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray… who was elected president of the Shiv Sena way back on 23.01.2018 when the organizational elections were held and the same was communicated to the Election Commission on 27.02.2018,” Team Thackeray has told the apex court.
Eknath Shinde took the oath as Chief Minister, with the BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis as his Deputy, on June 30, a day after the former CM Uddhav Thackeray resigned and after two weeks of political turmoil that spanned four states. During a vote of trust in the Assembly, 40 of the 55 Shiv Sena MLAs supported him.
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