Possibility of horse trading if floor test delayed, says Supreme Court | 10 points

Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress had moved the top court after Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as chief minister and NCP’s Ajit Pawar as deputy chief minister by Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Saturday morning.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that the three-day old Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Maharashtra has to face a floor test in the assembly on Wednesday.

Mumbai: Newly-sworn in Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis shakes hands with his Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, in Mumbai, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019. (PTI Photo) (PTI11_23_2019_000058A)(PTI)

Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress had moved the top court after Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as chief minister and NCP’s Ajit Pawar as deputy chief minister by Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Saturday morning.

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Here are the top 10 points on Maharashtra:

1) A Supreme Court bench of Justices NV Ramana, Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna said the floor test on Wednesday will be conducted by the protem or temporary speaker.

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2) The court also ordered that the floor test cannot be conducted by secret ballot and has to be telecast live. “In a situation wherein, if the floor test is delayed, there is a possibility of horse trading, it becomes incumbent upon the Court to act to protect democratic values. An immediate floor test, in such a case, might be the most effective mechanism to do so,” ruled the bench .

3) Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress had told the court that Devendra Fadnavis must be told to immediately face a floor test and said that he doesn’t have the numbers.

4) Ahead of the Supreme Court order, Sena, NCP and Congress lawmakers gathered at a Mumbai hotel and pledged their support to the three-party alliance. Senior leaders claimed the support of 162 MLAs, well above the majority mark of 145 in the 288-member assembly.

5) Sena boss Uddhav Thackeray dared the BJP to stop the three parties from coming to power in Maharashtra. “Try blocking our road and you will come to know what we will do. You have seen Shiv Sena as an ally but not as your opponent,” he warned.

6) After the court verdict on Tuesday, NCP leader Nawab Malik tweeted that the BJP’s “game is over” in Maharashtra and truth will finally win. Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil though said that his party will prove its majority on Wednesday.

7) At Monday’s hearing in the Supreme Court, Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s office said that he was not expected to conduct a roving and fishing inquiry once he had received letters of support that indicated Devendra Fadnavis had the support of 170 MLAs.

8) On Sunday, the court had ordered the Centre to produce by Monday morning governor’s letter to Fadnavis to form a government and the letters of support by legislators submitted by Fadnavis to the governor.

9) The letters were submitted by solicitor general Tushar Mehta in court on Monday. Mehta said Koshyari invited Fadnavis to form the government after he produced letters of support from 11 Independent MLAs and NCP’s Ajit Pawar, whose letter was signed by 54 MLAs.

10) Kapil Sibal, who represented Sena, Congress and NCP, told the court he has affidavits signed by 154 MLAs expressing support for the three-party alliance.