Mumbai: “My judgment will give justice to Maharashtra,” state assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar said Wednesday, denying Opposition allegations that he was delaying his decision on the disqualification petitions filed by the two rival Shiv Sena factions.
Narwekar, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, reiterated what he had been saying for a few months — that he will not be rushed into a decision and will take a call on the petitions in due course. Last month, all Shiv Sena and Shiv Sena (UBT) MLAs were asked to submit their say. The official hearings are to begin today.
Disqualification petitions are pending against 34 MLAs of the two rival factions — 20 (out of total 40) from the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and all 14 from the Shiv Sena (UBT) led by former CM Uddhav Thackeray.
The factions stem from Shinde’s rebellion last year, which caused a split in the Sena and led to the fall of the then Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, comprising the undivided Shiv Sena, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
The Opposition, in particular the Shiv Sena (UBT), has been accusing Narwekar of sitting on the petitions. Denying the allegations, he told reporters Wednesday, “If they say I am delaying the proceedings, why would I advance the hearing by a day? Since I have another event to attend in Delhi on 13 (October), I am advancing the hearing by a day. If I wanted to delay, I would have given a reason and postponed the hearing instead.”
Political analysts believe that the delay in deciding on the petitions is advantageous to Shinde and his party.
“This delay is actually beneficial to Shinde and the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP-Ajit Pawar faction government,” political analyst Sanjay Patil told ThePrint. “Because just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections (next year), if the Speaker decides to disqualify the MLAs, it will be a big setback for the ruling government because what has happened in the Shiv Sena is with the support of BJP. So, this is all a part of that strategy.”
On its part, the Shinde-led Sena believes the petitions against its MLAs are nothing but an attempt by the Shiv Sena (UBT) to “keep its flock together”.
“The Supreme Court has already taken a decision and given legitimacy to the government,” its spokesperson Naresh Mhaske told ThePrint, referring to the court’s refusal in May to reinstate the former MVA government under Thackeray. “Even the Election Commission of India has decided who the real Shiv Sena is. The other group is just trying to keep its remaining flock together and is hence coming up with these tactics. Nothing else.”
Although the exact numbers of the BJP-Sena-Ajit faction combine are still unknown, CM Shinde reportedly said in July that the alliance — called the Maha Yuti — has more than 210 MLAs in the 288-member house.
With both the general election and Maharashtra assembly polls due next year, a BJP leader admitted that a decision to disqualify MLAs could prove to be detrimental to the party. This delay, the leader conceded, was “good” for the alliance.
“Look, this is their internal matter and the Speaker is functioning according to the law. But yes, any decision at the moment could send shockwaves in the camp as we are preparing to fight the elections as the Maha Yuti with Devendra ji, Eknath Shinde, and Ajit Pawar on our side,” he told ThePrint.
Also Read: Grassroots workers or ‘proxies’? How Maharashtra women leaders have fared with quota in local bodies
A timeline
Last year, soon after Shinde’s rebellion against his party, Thackeray and his supporters initiated disqualification proceedings against him and 16 other MLAs. Narhari Zirwal, a leader of MVA constituent NCP and then deputy Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly, issued notices against these leaders, prompting them to move the Supreme Court. The Shinde faction also filed disqualification petitions against the Thackeray faction’s MLAs.
Meanwhile, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, then governor of the state, ordered a floor test for the MVA government. The government appealed the decision in the Supreme Court but the latter refused to interfere.
On 29 June, 2022, minutes after the SC’s decision, Thackeray announced he was stepping down as CM, paving the way for Shinde to form the government with the BJP’s support.
Meanwhile, the tussle over the disqualification proceedings continued, with the Supreme Court referring it to a larger bench in August last year.
On 17 February this year, the Election Commission of India allotted the Shiv Sena’s bow and arrow symbol and name to the Shinde faction — a development that came as a major blow to Thackeray, which challenged the decision in the top court.
Meanwhile, hearings over the Sena crisis continued — in May, a Constitution Bench pulled up Koshyari for his decision to call for a trust vote, but also refused to reinstate the Thackeray government, citing Uddhav Thackeray’s failure to face the floor test.
The court also asked the Maharashtra Speaker to expedite the disqualification proceedings.
When the delay over the proceedings continued, the Shiv Sena (UBT) once again approached the SC in September.
On 18 September, the apex court asked the Speaker for a deadline on the disqualification proceedings, prompting Narwekar to issue notices to all 54 MLAs from both Shiv Sena factions. The Speaker also spelled out a timeline for the disqualification proceedings — according to the schedule issued, petitions will be heard from 13 October (now advanced to 12 October) to 23 November, after which cross-examination will take place.
Political analyst Abhay Deshpande believes the disqualification process is likely to be delayed.
“Whether the Supreme Court will agree to the schedule submitted by the Speaker will depend but it looks like the procedure will be delayed,” he said. “Unless the Supreme Court gives a straight timeline, I don’t think any decision can come before January.”
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
Also Read: Maratha reservation protest isn’t just about quota. It will end dynasties