Final day: 3 Sena leaders questioned

NAGPUR On the final day of the cross-examination in the Sena vs Sena hearing, at Vidhan Bhavan, Nagpur, three leaders from the Shinde faction of Shiv Sena -- school education minister Deepak Kesarkar, MP Rahul Shewale and MLA Bharat Gogawale -- fielded questions from counsels representing Shiv Sena (UBT)

NAGPUR

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On the final day of the cross-examination in the Sena vs Sena hearing, at Vidhan Bhavan, Nagpur, three leaders from the Shinde faction of Shiv Sena -- school education minister Deepak Kesarkar, MP Rahul Shewale and MLA Bharat Gogawale -- fielded questions from counsels representing Shiv Sena (UBT). Over the next three days, counsels from both sides are expected to submit their written arguments before the oral arguments begin next week.

In the past, during his cross-examination Shinde faction counsel Mahesh Jethmalani had claimed that the email on which the whips were served to rebel MLAs was fabricated. On Tuesday, Thackeray faction counsels Devadatt Kamat and Rohit Sharma followed the same line of interrogation.

Kamat questioned the veracity of the mobile number from which Shinde faction’s whip Bharat Gogawale sent messages to 15 MLAs from Thackeray faction. Gogawale claimed they were sent from a number registered in his friend’s name, which incidentally was different from the number in the state legislature diary. When Kamat said the MLAs not receive the messages, Gogawale rubbished the allegations, just as Thackeray faction’s whip Sunil Prabhu did recently.

In the morning, he grilled MP Rahul Shewale over his claim that the party constitution was never amended post 1999. Shewale had said that the constitution was not followed and the internal elections or the meetings of national executive were never held. He was cornered by Kamat who asked if he was blaming the late Sena supremo Bal Thackeray for lack of internal democracy during his lifetime.

“In a bid to prove that Thackeray had no power to take decisions as he never was elected as party chief, Shinde faction has claimed that there was no amendment in constitution after 1999. But proofs submitted by us has exposed the contradiction,” said a leader from Sena (UBT).

Carrying forward from yesterday’s argument, Deepak Kesarkar was questioned about Eknath Shinde’s ambition to be the CM, in an undivided Shiv Sena. (See box.)