Days after Maharashtra Congress leader Sachin Sawant complained to the Election Commission office to take stringent action against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde over the violation of the Model Code of Conduct, the returning officer of the South Mumbai Collectorate sent a show cause notice to the Maharashtra CMO.
The senior Maharashtra Congress leader Sawant has filed a complaint against Shinde over a party meeting conducted at the Chief Minister's official residence, 'Varsha' on April 6.
Citing the 'party meeting' at the CM's official residence as a flagrant violation of the Model Code of Conduct, Sawant said, "Although two weeks have passed since the implementation of the code of conduct in the country, political meetings are being held continuously at the official residence of the Chief Minister, Varsha. These meetings should be stopped immediately. This is a flagrant violation of the code of conduct. Unfortunately, the Election Commission is still not taking notice of them. @CEO_Maharshtra is awake. Take action."
Moreover, the Maharashtra CMO is yet to submit its reply, and, depending on the same, further action will be taken.
Shiv Sena's Shinde faction held a meeting to quell growing dissent.
Meanwhile, Saturday's meeting at the CM's official residence came in the aftermath of a growing dissent within the Shinde faction over the BJP's alleged political dominance and the alliance's decision to drop the names of a few sitting MPs. The Chief Minister has been facing immense criticism from party colleagues in the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) and BJP seat distribution rows. The Sena leaders, while targeting the BJP, have said that they are giving away the seats and following ‘coalition dharma,’ while its alliance partners are not doing so.
Further, during the meeting, all the leaders also expressed their strong discontent over the dropping of sitting MPs from at least four constituencies. The Chief Minister, however, assured that due respect would be given to everyone in the party.
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