Maharashtra: Amid the NCP crisis unfolding in Maharashtra, Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Saturday issued notices to 40 MLAs of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and 14 of the Uddhav Thackeray faction seeking replies on disqualification petitions against them.
The development comes a day after Speaker Narwekar received a copy of the Shiv Sena's constitution from the Election Commission with a intimation that hearing on disqualification petitions against 16 Shiv Sena MLAs, including CM Shinde will start soon. Earlier this week, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena had approached the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Assembly Speaker to hear the disqualification petitions expeditiously.
On May 11, the top court ruled that Eknath Shinde will continue to be the chief minister of Maharashtra. It cannot reinstate the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government headed by Uddhav Thackeray as the Sena leader chose to resign without facing a floor test in the wake of Shinde's rebellion, the court said.
Meanwhile, the spree of MLAs jumping the Uddhav Thackeray ship continues. On July 7, Neelam Gorhe, a close aide of Uddhav Thackeray, joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena in Mumbai. MLC Manisha Kayande is also all set to join his rival camp Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde.
