New Delhi: Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar on Tuesday said the Election Commission’s decision to allot the name and symbol ‘Shiv Sena’ to the faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is a “prospective” decision and not a restrictive one.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with some officials at Vidhan Bhawan, Narvekar also said that the decision on the disqualification of the 16 MLAs, including Chief Minister Shinde, would begin with the faction representing the real Shiv Sena in July 2022. It also said on Monday that after the Supreme Court’s May 11 verdict, they would have to first identify in the House which faction of the Shiv Sena is a political party before proceeding with any other decision. In its verdict on the Shiv Sena-centred struggle that led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra last year, the Supreme Court said it could not reinstate the then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray as he had opted to resign unopposed. Facing floor test.
Refusing to disqualify 16 rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the Supreme Court said it cannot ordinarily decide disqualification petitions under the anti-defection law and asked Speaker Narvekar to “appropriate” the pending matter. directed to take a decision within “period”. Shinde was earlier a cabinet minister in the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government. In June 2022, Shinde and 39 other MLAs rebelled against their party leadership, leading to a split in the Shiv Sena. Shinde later became the chief minister with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
While the two Sena groups, led by Shinde and led by Uddhav Thackeray, have contested the elections as separate entities, they are not recognized separately in the assembly. The Election Commission had in February this year allotted the name ‘Shiv Sena’ and its election symbol ‘bow and arrow’ to the group led by Chief Minister Shinde.
Narvekar said on Tuesday, “As per the Supreme Court’s decision, the starting point of the arguments will decide which faction was representing the Shiv Sena in July 2022. However, the Election Commission of India allotted the name and its symbol to the Shiv Sena.” Is.” Shinde faction, the decision is not retrospective. This is a possible decision.” He said, “The Supreme Court has said that which faction is to be represented by the Shiv Sena, it is for the Speaker to decide.”
