NCP founder Sharad Pawar on Friday said his faction of the party feared “delay tactics” were being employed by Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar in disposing off petitions regarding disqualification of rebel MLAs.
"NCP and Shiv Sena (UBT) have approached the Supreme Court to give directions to the Maharashtra Speaker to take a decision regarding the disqualification of some MLAs in a time-bound manner. SC can direct the Speaker to take a decision in a time-bound manner. We fear that delay tactics are being used in the matter," he was quoted as saying by ANI.
The Supreme Court today pulled up Narwekar for delaying adjudication of disqualification petitions against rebel MLAs. The court said if the Speaker fails to expedite the process, it will fix a timeline.
The court said it was concerned about ensuring the dignity of the court and said its orders must be complied with.
The court will hear the matter next on Monday.
The court was referring to its September 18 order directing Narwekar to provide the timeline for deciding on the disqualification petitions filed by the Sharad Pawar faction of the party.
The Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena has also demanded timely disposal of disqualification petitions of its rebel MLAs, including Eknath Shinde.
The Sharad Pawar group had approached the Supreme Court seeking directives to Narwekar to take action against MLAs who shifted loyalty to his nephew Ajit Pawar.
On July 2, Ajit Pawar and eight other NCP MLAs joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government. He later declared he had the support of 40 lawmakers.
On Thursday, Sharad Pawar said his nephew will never become the chief minister of Maharashtra.
"Ajit Pawar becoming chief minister will remain only a dream."
He expressed confidence that the Maha Vikas Aghadi of the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar group) and Congress will come to power in Maharashtra after the 2024 elections.
With inputs from PTI, ANI