Uddhav faction moves top court, challenges LS Speaker’s decision

The fresh plea challenged the decision of the Lok Sabha Speaker to recognise Shewale as Shiv Sena’s floor leader

NEW DELHI: The Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray faction has filed another petition in the Supreme Court challenging the decision of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to recognise Rahul Shewale of the Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde led group as the floor leader.

A three-judge bench is already scheduled to hear on August 1 a batch of petitions filed by the Thackeray faction in relation to several political developments in Maharashtra, before the Election Commission with regard to claim over the party and its symbol and in Parliament.

The fresh plea challenged the decision of the Lok Sabha Speaker to recognise Shewale as Shiv Sena’s floor leader at the instance of the Shinde faction.

The Uddhav group terms the action of the Speaker as illegal and arbitrary alleging that the Shiv Sena leader and its chief whip in the Lok Sabha were removed unilaterally.

“The Speaker made the impugned changes to the positions of the leader and the chief whip without adhering to basic rules of natural justice or even calling for an explanation from the Shiv Sena political party or the petitioners herein, despite categorical requests in this regard having been communicated to him,” the plea submitted. The plea said names of Vinayak Raut and Rajan Vichare as the Leader and the Chief Whip of the Shiv Sena in the Lok Sabha respectively were reiterated and communicated to Birla, it said. However, the Speaker approved the names proposed by the Shinde faction, it said.

“As such, the actions of the respondent No.1 being palpably and manifestly arbitrary and in outright violation of the scheme envisaged under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, is in the teeth of Article 14 thereof, it submitted.

Shinde, with 12 of the 19 Lok Sabha members from Sena by his side, had named Shewale as the leader of the party in the Lok Sabha and Bhawana Gawale as the chief whip. Earlier, Vinayak Bhaurao Raut and Rajan Vichare were the leader of the party and chief whip of the Shiv Sena in the Lok Sabha.

On July 26, the top court had agreed to hear on August 1 another fresh plea by the Thackeray faction against EC proceedings on a petition by the Shinde-led group for recognition as the real Shiv Sena.

The Uddhav group terms the action of the Speaker as illegal and arbitrary