New Delhi: Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Wednesday pronounced his verdict on the cross-petitions filed by both factions of Shiv Sena seeking disqualification of each other’s MLAs.
He ruled that the faction led by Eknath Shinde was the "real Shiv Sena" when the rival groups emerged in 2022.
Several political leaders including Ramdas Athawale, Deepak Kesarkar, Sharad Pawar, and Jitendra Awhad reacted to the ruling which came as a major setback for the Shiv Sena (UBT) camp.
President of the Republican Party of India (Athawale) and Union MoS, Ramdas Athawale said that Rahul Narwekar's decision is good and is a huge blow to Uddhav Thackeray.
"This is a huge jolt to Uddhav Thackeray. Eknath Shinde will remain the CM, and his faction is the real Shiv Sena political party. This decision is as per the constitution, it will benefit us in Lok Sabha polls," he said.
Maharashtra minister Kesarkar said that this decision will further strengthen the democracy.
"This decision will further strengthen the democracy. The decision highlights that there should be democracy in the party and just one person cannot use all the rights of the entire party, without holding discussions with other members of the party," he told the reporters.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar said, "After this decision, Uddhav will have to go to SC...He is hopeful of getting justice in SC. Ambadas Danve said that we will go to the Supreme Court and challenge this decision. SC had said in Subhash Desai's case that party organisation is important."
Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole called the ruling unconstitutional and said that it was against party rules.
"Assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar's judgment is unconstitutional and it's an undemocratic judgment and it was against party rules, he accepted that the real Shivsena was 1999, he did not disqualify any MLA from both sides...We have faith in the Supreme Court...Democracy is in danger after this judgment and BJP will face problems from this judgement," he said.
Jitendra Awhad (NCP-Sharad Pawar faction) leader in a social media post said that the verdict was not surprising.
"This was bound to happen... #Thackeray Who will deliver justice other than the court... The public will seek justice," he said in a post.
Celebrations Begin At Shinde Faction Office
Celebrations broke out at Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena's office in Mumbai after the Speaker delivered the verdict in their favour. Shiv Sena workers were seen distributing sweets and raising slogans.
The Maharashtra Speaker today pronounced the long-awaited verdict on cross petitions filed by the Udhdhav Thackrey and CM Eknath Shinde factions against each other seeking disqualification on grounds of defection from the Assembly.
While reading out the verdict, the Maharashtra Speaker said that the 1999 constitution of Shiv Sena has to be taken into account as the amended 2018 constitution was not before the Election Commission. The last relevant constitution of the Shiv Sena with the ECI was the one in 1999 and not the 2018 one, the Speaker said.
"I will have to decide the relevant constitution to be taken into account to the leadership structure that existed before the dispute. The 2018 amended constitution of Shiv Sena cannot be considered as valid as it's not in the records of the Election Commission of India. As per Supreme Court orders, I can not delve into any other factor on which the constitution is valid. As per records, I am relying on the 1999 constitution of Shiv Sena as the valid constitution,” he said.
There were 34 petitions filed by both sides against 54 MLAs.