Mumbai:
In a relief to the rebel MLAs, the Supreme Court kept in abeyance their disqualification proceedings till July 11 and also turned down a plea moved by Uddhav Thackeray’s team against holding a floor test in the meantime. The Supreme Court has extended the time granted to Eknath Shinde and 15 other rebel Shiv Sena MLAs to file their replies to the disqualification notices issued to them by Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal till 5:30 pm on July 12.As senior advocate Devdutt Kamat, appearing for the state government, contended that there should be no trust vote till the pending issues are decided, the Supreme Court said it cannot pass an order as that would create unnecessary complications. “If anything illegal happens, you can always move this court,” it said.As both sides have refused to blink and appear prepared for a long fight, sources say Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari may ask the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government to prove majority in the house sometime this week.Reports suggest that Maharashtra BJP leaders held brainstorming sessions after the Supreme Court order to discuss the arithmetic required to form a government along with the Shinde faction.Sources claim that the Eknath Shinde camp is consulting lawyers about the Constitutional provisions for holding a floor test.Eknath Shinde, the leader of a staggering coup against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, termed the Supreme Court’s verdict as the victory of Balasaheb Thackeray’s Hindutva.Shortly after the Supreme Court’s decision, senior leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress met Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and reiterated their support for him.In midst of the turmoil, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut was served summons by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case, which he termed as a “conspiracy” to stop him.Aditya Thackeray, addressing the party workers, claimed that around 15-20 rebel MLAs, who are staying at a Guwahati hotel in Assam, are in touch with him and have urged the party to bring them back to Mumbai.Mr Shinde, who submitted in the Supreme Court that 38 Shiv Sena MLAs have withdrawn their support to the ruling alliance, claims that he has the backing of around 50 MLAs, nearly 40 from the Shiv Sena.
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