Quaid Najmi
Mumbai, Jan 10 (IANS) The ruling MahaYuti of Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party-Nationalist Congress Party (AP) warmly hailed and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi of Congress-Shiv Sena (UBT)-NCP (SP) criticised the much-awaited verdict on the disqualification of MLAs by the Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, here on Wednesday.
Welcoming the ruling, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said it was as per the laws, a triumph of truth over and the government would complete its full tenure, while Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said that all constitutional and legal procedures were adhered to while forming the government in June 2022.
“We have been saying this right from the beginning… That’s why, the government is strong and stable. The Supreme Court had also clearly said in its order that there is no need to issue any order to dismiss this government. But some people were trying to destabilise it and repeatedly spreading misconceptions,” said Fadnavis.
Top MVA leaders like Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut (SS-UBT) Sharad Pawar and Jitendra Awhad (NCP-SP), Nana Patole and Prithviraj Chavan (Congress), plus many others flayed the verdict, saying it was ‘expected’ while warning it portends a danger to the democracy in the country.
Ex-CM Thackeray attacked the verdict, calling it a violation of the SC orders, and asking whether it could attract contempt proceedings.
He said that after the ‘match-fixing’ between Narwekar and Shinde on Sunday, it was clear “what kind of verdict would come”.
Alleging collusion, Thackeray said that instead of strengthening the anti-defection laws, the verdict has shown the route how defections can be carried out, and said the party would challenge it in the Supreme Court.
Attacking the ruling, Pawar said that it has gone against the Supreme Court by giving weightage to the legislative party rather than the political organisation, which has many powers including issuing the whip, as per previous apex court judgements.
“Thackeray will have to go to the SC and he will definitely get justice there. The people know who the Shiv Sena belongs to. This will prove advantageous to Thackeray in the next elections. We will explain to the masses how injustice was done,” said Pawar in Pune.
Patole said that Wednesday (January 10) marks a ‘black day’ for Maharashtra politics as the directions of the Supreme Court were ignored and there is an apparent violation of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution.
“This seems to be a draft written by the ‘Gujarat lobby’ in Delhi and it has tarnished the democratic traditions of Maharashtra. The Speaker took so long to deliver the ruling after the Supreme Court orders in May 2023, and he has recognised the breakaway faction as the real Shiv Sena, this is strange,” said Patole.
He said the Speaker was biased as not a single legislator from the Shinde or Thackeray side was disqualified, and if such things continue then political parties will cease to exist in India.
Thackeray pointed out that the original case was of disqualification, but “nobody was disqualified”, and then the Speaker decided on who the Shiv Sena belongs to, a decision of the Election Commission, which the SS-UBT has already challenged in the Supreme Court.
Pawar added that as suspected by the Opposition and as predicted by the ruling side, the Speaker’s verdict was not a surprise at all, he has not disqualified any MLA from any side but now the SS-UBT can move the SC and get justice there.
“The Speaker has given importance to the Legislature Party over the party organisation. In the case of Subhash Desai versus Government in the SC in 2023, the court ruled that the party organisation is important as it selects the candidates, and helps them to contest elections… but this has been violated by the Speaker,” Pawar said.
NCP General Secretary Jitendra Awhad said that the Speaker’s verdict is “dangerous for democracy and goes against the 10th Schedule of Constitution”.
“This ruling will allow such undemocratic steps to be taken by power-hungry politicians to break parties and set up unconstitutional governments… the judgement also violated the Supreme Court verdict which had recognised the Chief Whip of Thackeray group,” said Awhad.
Alleging that the Speaker has violated the SC directives, Thackeray urged the apex court to initiate suo motu contempt proceedings against Narwekar, and said that the SS-UBT will challenge Narwekar’s ruling.
