Will hear everyone before taking decision: Maharashtra speaker on disqualification pleas against CM Shinde, MLAs

Rahul Narvekar. File Pic/Ashish Raje

Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar on Monday said he would hear everyone's side before deciding on disqualification pleas filed against Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other MLAs of his camp, reported the PTI.

I will decide as a quasi-judicial authority. I cannot comment further on the issue. Action will be taken as per the rules and framework of the Constitution. I will hear everyone's side before taking the decision, Rahul Narwekar told reporters while responding to a query, as per the PTI.

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The speaker is likely to start hearing the disqualification pleas from the next week.

Rahul Narwekar had in July said that he had issued notices to 40 MLAs of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and 14 of the Uddhav Thackeray faction, seeking their replies on disqualification petitions against them.

The notices were issued against a total of 54 MLAs, including CM Shinde and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray.

Earlier in July, the Shiv Sena (UBT) approached the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the assembly speaker to hear the disqualification petitions expeditiously.

MLA Sunil Prabhu had, in his capacity as chief whip of the undivided Shiv Sena, had filed the disqualification petitions against Shinde and other 15 MLAs last year after they rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray and joined hands with the BJP to form a new government in June 2022.

On May 11, the Supreme Court ruled that Eknath Shinde will continue to be the chief minister of Maharashtra. It cannot reinstate the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government headed by Uddhav Thackeray as the Sena leader chose to resign without facing a floor test in the wake of CM Shinde's rebellion, the top court said.

Last month, the 40 MLAs of the Shiv Sena led by CM Shinde have filed separate replies running into thousands of pages to the disqualification notice issued by Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar, the PTI had earlier reported.

Sena MLA and party spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat said each MLA has filed a reply of 6,000 to 6,500 pages.

"It is not a joint statement. Every MLA has filed a separate reply of 6,000 to 6,500 pages," he ha told the PTI in August.

Shirsat was one of the 16 MLAs against whom disqualification notices were initially issued after they rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray, then chief minister and head of the undivided Sena, in June 2022. The Thackeray group had approached the Speaker with a petition seeking to disqualify them.

(with PTI inputs)