Disqualification row: Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA tells HC Shinde camp plea mere 'delay tactics'
Disqualification row: Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA tells HC Shinde camp plea mere 'delay tactics'
Mumbai, Shiv Sena leader Ajay Chowdhary on Monday told the Bombay High Court the plea filed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led faction's chief whip Bharat Gogavale challenging the Maharashtra assembly Speaker's decision not to disqualify the opposition party's MLAs was mere "delay tactics". Chowdhary claimed Gogavale filed the petition with the "primary objective" to "play delay tactics". The opposition party MLA on Monday submitted an affidavit through advocate Asim Sarode in response to the petition filed by Gogavale in January this year. Gogavale, the chief whip of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, in the petition challenged the "legality, propriety and correctness" of the January 10 order passed by Speaker Rahul Narwekar dismissing the disqualification petitions filed by him against the MLAs of the rival Shiv Sena . Gogavale has sought the HC to declare the Speaker's order as bad in law, quash it and to disqualify all the 14 MLAs of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party from assembly membership. The high court had then issued notices to all the 14 MLAs and also to Narwekar, and directed them to file their respective affidavits. Chowdhary, one of the MLAs whose disqualification has been sought by his rival camp, in the affidavit said, Gogavale's petition was a tactic to delay hearing of petitions filed by the Shiv Sena in the Supreme Court against the Speaker's decision. "The petition has been filed to create confusion and delay the matters that are being considered by the Supreme Court. The petition filed is false, frivolous and untenable and is liable to be dismissed with compensatory costs," Chowdhary said in the affidavit. Chowdhary has further claimed that while hearing the plea by deputy CM Ajit Pawar-led NCP related to disqualification of the rival NCP MLAs, the Supreme Court clarified it will decide on all the disqualification pleas, including those related to the rival Shiv Sena camps. While Gogavale had moved the HC, the Uddhav Thackeray faction filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Speaker's order declaring the Sena faction led by Chief Minister Shinde as the "real political party" after its split in June 2022. The Speaker had also rejected the Thackeray faction's plea to disqualify 16 MLAs of the ruling camp, including Shinde. Gogavale, in the petition, argued since the Speaker had held that Shinde represents the "real" Shiv Sena and that he was the legally appointed chief whip of the ruling party, he ought to have disqualified the 14 Shiv Sena MLAs for their actions against the party.
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