Supreme Court/File
The Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress combine on Saturday filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking quashing of the Maharashtra governor's decision to swear in BJP's Devendra Fadnavis as chief minister and demanded a floor test on Sunday itself to avoid "further horse trading." The apex is set to hear the petition at 11:30 am on Sunday.
The three parties have sought a direction to the governor to invite them to form government under the leadership of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray saying they have the support of more than 144 MLAs.
The petitioners alleged that the governor has acted in a "partisan manner" and has allowed himself to be a "pawn in the BJP's illegal usurpation of power".
The parties prayed for a floor test on Sunday so as to avoid further horse trading and illegal maneuvers to somehow cobble up a majority from the MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi)".
The application also sought direction for furnishing relevant records from the governor's office with regard to the invitation to Fadnavis to form government on Saturday, the satisfaction of the governor as to the support enjoyed by Fadnavis of a majority of MLAs in the assembly and his subsequent swearing in as the CM.
Video recording of the floor test and placing copies of the video before the court and appointing a pro-tem speaker to preside over the conduct of the floor test were also sought in the application.
BJP's Devendra Fadnavis and NCP leader Ajit Pawar took oath as the Maharashtra chief minister and deputy chief minister respectively on Saturday, an unexpected development a day after Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray emerged as the Sena-NCP-Congress' consensus candidate for the top post.
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, however, said it was his nephew Ajit Pawar's own decision, and not that of the party, to support the Bharatiya Janata Party to form the government.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut accused Ajit Pawar of stabbing the Sena in the back by deciding to join hands with the BJP.
The month-long political impasse ended dramatically with Fadnavis returning as the chief minister after the President's rule, imposed in the state on November 12, was revoked early on Saturday.
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