Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena challenges appointment of Eknath Shinde as Maharashtra CM

Tribune News Service

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, July 8

The Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of Shiv Sena on Friday moved the Supreme Court challenging the appointment of Eknath Shinde as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

In a petition filed in the top court, Shiv Sena's Thackeray faction General Secretary Subhash Desai challenged the Governor BS Koshyari's June 30 decision to invite the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the BJP to form a coalition government in Maharashtra.

Desai also questioned the constitutional validity of the July 3 and 4 Maharashtra Assembly proceedings in which BJP legislator Rahul Narveker was elected as the new Speaker with the support of the rebel faction of Shiv Sena. Following it, Shinde went on in to prove his government's majority on the floor of the House.

Mentioning the petition before a Vacation Bench led by Justice Indira Banerjee, senior advocate Devadatt Kamat sought an urgent hearing of the matter.

The Bench agreed to take it up on July 11 along with other petitions on Maharashtra political crisis already pending before the top court.

The Supreme Court is also scheduled to take up on July 11 a petition filed by the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena challenging newly-elected Speaker Rahul Narvekar’s decision to recognise a new chief whip belonging to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led group of the party.

Desai has contended that since rebel MLAs did not merge with other parties, they incurred disqualification under the anti-defection law i.e. the 10th Schedule of the Constitution.

“Governor’s satisfaction in calling upon Shinde to be the Chief Minister as head of 39 rebel Shiv Sena MLAs (not endorsed by Shiv Sena) is ex-facie unconstitutional,” Desai submitted.

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