NCP disqualification pleas: Ajit Pawar faction submits 40 responses to Speaker, Sharad Pawar group gives nine

Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar. File Pic

The Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions of the Nationalist Congress Party(NCP) on Friday submitted their responses to Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar in connection with NCP disqualification pleas filed against each other, reported the PTI.

The news agency reported, the NCP split on July 2 after Ajit Pawar and eight MLA joined the Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde government. Since then, both factions have laid claim to the party name and symbol and have petitioned the Speaker seeking disqualification of those owing allegiance to the other side.

While the Ajit Pawar faction submitted 40 responses, the faction led by party founder Sharad Pawar submitted nine responses, sources told the PTI.

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"The hearing related to the disqualification petitions filed by NCP legislators is expected to be held next week. The concerned authorities will have to go through the documents and responses submitted by both sides," Vidhan Bhavan sources said.

The NCP is recognised as one unit in both Houses of the Maharashtra Legislature, they added.

Separate hearings of both factions in connection with the split in the party are underway at the Election Commission of India and the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, as the Supreme Court's December 31 deadline for the disqualification of 16 Shiv Sena MLAs approaches, the hearing process has been accelerated, with Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA and party's chief whip in the legislative Assembly Sunil Prabhu being cross-examined for the second day in a row in connection with the disqualification pleas on Wednesday, reported the ANI.

The Supreme Court last month directed Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar to give the judgment on disqualification of rebel Sena MLAs by December 31.

The apex court had come down hard on the speaker over the delay in deciding the pleas filed by former Maharashtra CM and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray faction for disqualification of Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and several MLAs loyal to him, saying the speaker cannot defeat the orders of the top court.

According to the ANI, Sunil Prabhu was cross-examined by the lawyer representing CM Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Wednesday during the hearing of Sena MLAs' disqualification pleas.

(with PTI and ANI inputs)