Shivsena’s lawyer Devdutt Kamat said that in order to dodge the two-thirds majority – anti-defection, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray and his team are now preparing to take Eknath Shinde and his camp legally, allowing his government to There is danger. The law will apply only after merger with the rebel group.
“The concept of two-three (to cross anti-defection law) is applicable only when there is a merger. Unless MLAs merge with another party, disqualification applies. Till date, there is no merger, they have voluntarily given up the membership,” said Shiv Sena legal advisor-cum-lawyer.
Shinde is camping in Guwahati and claims the support of over 40 Shiv Sena and independent MLAs. On Sunday, when Maharashtra minister Uday Samant reached Guwahati to join the group, the number of insurgents increased further. On paper, Shiv Sena has 55 MLAs in the Maharashtra Assembly.
On Saturday, rebel MLA Deepak Kesarkar said that the group enjoys a two-thirds majority in the legislature party and will prove its strength in the House but will not merge with any other political party. Kamat said the concept of merger was introduced in 2003.
“The legislature party is not supreme and the majority in the legislature party has no meaning (if) it is formed from the parent party,” Kamat told reporters in Mumbai along with Shiv Sena’s chief spokesperson and Lok Sabha MP Arvind Sawant.
Kamat also said that the Deputy Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly has every right to pronounce the verdict in the absence of the Speaker. “Under the Constitution, in the absence of the Deputy Speaker, the Speaker has the power and can pronounce judgments on such matters,” he said.
The Maharashtra Assembly Secretariat has issued ‘summons’ to 16 rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, including senior Shiv Sena minister Eknath Shinde, seeking written replies by the evening of June 27, seeking their disqualification.
Kamat said disqualification proceedings have been initiated against the 16 rebel MLAs under Para 2.1.A of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution.
Kamat said the disqualification is applicable to them till they merge with some other political organisation. “Several Supreme Court judgments have shown that the actions of MLAs outside the House are anti-party activities and they are liable to be disqualified. He has not responded to the party’s instructions to attend the convened meetings,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Shinde camp on Sunday Took the fight to the Supreme Court and filed a petition against the disqualification notices given to 16 MLAs. The petition also challenges the appointment of Ajay Choudhary as the leader of the Shiv Sena Legislature Party and the quashing of his no-confidence motion against the deputy speaker.
The political tussle in Maharashtra has been going on for almost a week after the Uddhav government reached the brink of collapse following the Shinde rebellion. The rebel MLAs have claimed that they are Shiv Sainiks of Bal Thackeray and demanded party president Uddhav Thackeray to walk out of Maha Vikas Aghadi and revive ties with former ally BJP.
(with PTI inputs)
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