'Not appropriate for me...': Maha Speaker on why he didn't disqualify Thackeray faction MLAs in 'real Shiv Sena' case

In a big political win for Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar held that the Shiv Sena faction led by him was the "real political party." The Speaker also did not disqualify any MLA from the two camps, a verdict that adds another chapter in the Sena legacy war.

Reading out his ruling on disqualification petitions filed by Shinde led Sena and the rival faction led by Uddhav Thackeray against each other's MLAs, Narwekar also said that Sunil Prabhu of the Sena (UBT) ceased to be the whip from June 21, 2022, and Bharat Gogawale of the Shinde group became the authorised whip In an exclusive interview with , Narwekar spoke on why MLAs from the Thackeray camp were not disqualified.

He told the daily that although Bharat Gogawale was named as whip, he expressed uncertainty regarding the proper service of the whip to attend the party meeting for Thackeray faction MLAs. “It appears that this service is not complete. There was no evidence to show this whip was properly served upon the MLAs belonging to the Thackeray faction.

Since this filter was not cleared, it was not appropriate for me, under the principles of natural justice, to hold them disqualified," Narwekar said as quoted by . Narwekar also spoke to on his decision to reject disqualification of MLAs from both factions, his decision that faced significant scrutiny from critics.

He further told the daily that skipping a party meeting is seen as dissent rather than a rule violation and said that the right to dissent is protected under the constitutional right of freedom of speech. After the verdict, Former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray in a press conference said the apex court had given clear guidelines, but those were ignored by the Speaker.

The original case was about disqualification under the anti defection law, but not one lawmaker from either side was disqualified, the former CM said. "The foundation on which the order stands is wrong. This is a murder of democracy and an insult to the Supreme Court," he said, adding neither the apex court nor the people will accept this decision.

"The Shiv Sena will never be finished and the people of Maharashtra will not accept the Sena of these traitors," Thackeray asserted The Shiv Sena suffered a split in 2022 after a group of MLAs joined hands with the BJP to revolt against the party leadership. The move had led to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government with both factions filing disqualification petitions against each other.

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