New Delhi: Opposition legislators in Maharashtra have moved a no-confidence motion against Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar, alleging that he was biased towards the ruling BJP and Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde group.
Interestingly, the leader of the opposition Nationalist Congress Party Ajit Pawar is not a signatory to the resolution which was signed by 47 MLAs.
People in the know say that Ajit Pawar was not keen on the proposal and hence did not sign it. Other legislators of the NCP, including senior leaders, as well as members of the Shiv Sena (the Uddhav Thackeray group) and the Congress have supported the resolution.
Ajit Pawar told reporters late on Thursday night, “If I had agreed, I would have signed it. I am not aware of the proposal. I will get the information and then I will get back to you.” “As far as I know, no-confidence motion cannot be moved before one year (of a member being elected Speaker),” he said.
Sources said the Congress along with the Uddhav Thackeray group had moved a no-confidence motion against the Speaker, but Ajit Pawar was not keen on it.
The BJP leader and minister of state said, “This shows that the leader of the opposition himself does not have confidence in his own no-confidence motion. An opposition leader is the captain of the team and he himself is not keen on trust deficit.” One Sudhir Mungantiwar.
The Shinde camp is also getting dragged into it. “It clearly shows that there is no coordination between them. The Leader of the Opposition is the head of the opposition, but he does not have his signature on this resolution. He should have at least asked his leader.” before taking such a decision,” said minister Shambhuraj Desai.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut described the absence of Ajit Pawar’s signature as a “technical issue”. “The speaker is behaving in a partisan manner, and he is not allowing opposition members, especially the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray group), to speak,” Raut said.
