Meanwhile, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde will face the crucial floor test today — the last day of the special two-day session of the House.
BJP candidate Rahul Narwekar after being elected as the Speaker of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. Twitter/ @ANI
New Delhi: A day after being recognised as the chief whip of the Shiv Sena, Bharat Gogawale (Eknath Shinde faction) has given a petition to the Assembly Speaker seeking suspension of 16 MLAs of the party for violation of whip.
The 16 MLAs will be issued notice for suspension, confirmed the Speaker’s office.
The development comes as a major setback to the Thackeray faction comprising 16 MLAs.
Shiv Sena chief MP Arvind Sawant had earlier said that the appointment of Bharat Gogawale from the Shinde camp as the chief whip of the Sena, removing Sunil Prabhu, who belongs to the Thackeray faction was illegal.
“We will challenge this decision in court. This is highly unfortunate. The decision is taken on Sunday late night which speaks volumes about how it must have been taken,” Sawant had said.
He alleged that the decision amounts to trampling the Constitution and democratic norms. “The BJP is marching towards autocracy, Sawant added.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde will face the crucial floor test today — the last day of the special two-day session of the House.
The test of strength comes a day after BJP’s Rahul Narwekar was elected Speaker — a significant move in view of the Shiv Sena’s pending appeal to disqualify 16 rebel MLAs, including the new Chief Minister.
In his first move as the Speaker, Narvekar reinstated Shinde as Shiv Sena legislature party leader, removing Ajay Chaudhary.
Narvekar also recognised the appointment of Bharat Gogawale from the Shinde camp as the chief whip of the Sena, removing Sunil Prabhu, who belongs to the Thackeray faction.
In a statement late Sunday night, Narvekar said the Maharashtra Legislature secretariat had received a letter from the Shinde-led group on 22 June objecting to his removal by Thackeray as the group leader of the Shiv Sena legislature party.
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