Shiv Sena slams Speaker's poll; 'Illegal to allow rebels facing disqualification to vote'

Crying foul over the Maharashtra Speaker's election, Shiv Sena argued that it was illegal as rebel MLAs facing disqualification proceedings were allowed to vote. Penning an editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana on Monday, Executive Editor Sanjay Raut opined that there is no rule of law in Maharashtra since Eknath Shinde was sworn in as the Chief Minister. On this occasion, he also took a dig at Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari for not permitting the Speaker's election to take place during the MVA tenure. Moreover, he affirmed that people wouldn't forgive those who take oath in Balasaheb Thackeray's name and commit sins. 

Sanjay Raut contended, "The MLAs of the Shinde group rewarded by BJP did not follow the party whip. That's why disqualification proceedings will be initiated against them. To avoid this, BJP placed a person having the knowledge of the law on the Speaker's chair and decisions suitable to the party will be taken. It is illegal to allow 16 MLAs of the Shinde group whose petition regarding their disqualification is pending before the Supreme Court. But there is no rule of law in Maharashtra since Uddhav Thackeray tendered his resignation." 

"This election is illegal and is not in consonance with democratic and moral grounds. Nobody should feel surprised that our Governor has taken part in this immoral act. MVA had sought the Governor's permission to elect the Assembly Speaker earlier but it was declined on March 15 citing that the matter is subjudice. So, why were the rules imposed during the MVA tenure not applied now? It is not possible to get an answer to this question," the Shiv Sena MP added. 

He elaborated, "During the swearing-in ceremony of the Thackeray government, when some Ministers started their oath by invoking Shahu, Phule and Ambedkar, Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari got angry and slammed the Ministers by saying that this oath is against the Constitution. This protection of the Constitution and the oath was not seen this time. If the guardian of the Constitution behaves in such a hypocritical manner, they (BJP) can pass any proposal and win any election by bringing in not only the disqualified MLAs but also any Tom, Dick and Harry. Only count the heads whose mouth is shut." 

Rahul Narwekar appointed as Speaker

In a big boost for the Eknath Shinde government on Sunday, BJP's Rahul Narwekar was elected as the Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly on July 3. While he polled 164 votes, only 107 MLAs voted in favour of MVA's candidate Rajan Salvi. A total of 11 MLAs including 7 NCP legislators were not present during the Assembly session when the voting took place. Later in the day, Narwekar reinstated the Maharashtra CM as the Sena's Legislative Party leader and approved the appointment of Bharat Gogawale as the party chief whip in the place of Sunil Prabhu.