Amid the ongoing political crisis in Maharashtra, the Uddhav Thackeray camp of Shiv Sena has accused State Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar of deliberately delaying disqualification proceedings against party rebel and current Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The petition filed in Supreme Court said Speakers should “rise above their political affiliations” while performing the duties of the office. The Shiv Sena faction accused Mr. Narwekar of “brazen disregard” of his constitutional duties as a neutral arbiter under the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law) of the Constitution. According to the loyalists, the disqualification petitions under the Tenth Schedule should normally be decided within a period of three months from the date of their filing. This was laid down in the Supreme Court’s 2020 judgment in Keisham Meghachandra Singh v. Manipur Legislative Assembly, they said.
The development comes as Maharashtra is reeling from yet another political crisis in the form of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) split. NCP leader Ajit Pawar was sworn in as the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister on Sunday afternoon after he joined hands with the National Democratic Alliance in the State, causing a split in his party.
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) leader Sunil Prabhu filed a 406-page petition in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, urging the Supreme Court to decide the disqualification proceedings itself if the Speaker fails to do so in a time-bound manner.
“Any unreasonable delay on the part of the Speaker in deciding the petitions for disqualification contributes to and perpetuates the constitutional sin of defection committed by the delinquent members,” the petition said.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court had ruled that in mid-2022, Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari “erred” in calling for a trust vote that triggered the fall of Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the State. This opened the doors for disqualification proceedings against Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for defection from the Shiv Sena. The court also suggested factors to Speaker Mr. Narwekar to consider while deciding disqualification petitions.
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