Rebel Shiv Sena MLA Eknath Shinde has replied to Shiv Sena’s threat of cancellation of membership by stating that a ‘whip is for assembly work, not a party meeting’.
This comes after Shiv Sena had approached the Deputy Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and demanded that the membership of the rebel MLAs who didn’t attend the party meeting be cancelled.
A total of 13 MLAs had attended the meeting held at Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray’s residence, Matoshree, on Thursday evening.
In response to the action by the Shiv Sena leadership, Shinde put out a tweet stating, “Who are you trying to scare? We know your fabrication and the law too! According to the 10th Schedule to the Constitution (Schedule) the whip is for assembly work, not for meetings. There are numerous Supreme Court decisions in this regard.”
12 . .
– Eknath Shinde – (mieknathshinde) June 23, 2022
Shinde further slammed the attempt to cancel his membership, and that of the MLAs following him, by saying, “You cannot scare us by saying that action will be taken on 12 MLAs. Because we are the real Shiv Sena, Bal Thackeray’s Shiv Sena.”
He further threatened action against the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and CM Uddhav Thackeray. He accused the Chief Minister of running a government without having the required number of MLAs.
. .
– Eknath Shinde – (mieknathshinde) June 23, 2022
“We are aware of the law, so don’t threaten us. You are running the government even though you don’t have the numbers. Now we demand action against you,” Shinde said in the final tweet in the thread.
MAHARASHTRA POLITICAL CRISIS
The current political crisis was triggered by minister Eknath Shinde, who, along with several MLAs, went incommunicado after the MLC poll results. The rebel MLAs led by Shinde reached a hotel in Surat late Monday night, hours after the polls, which saw the BJP win a fifth seat despite not having enough numbers in the Assembly. Some Shiv Sena and Congress MLAs reportedly voted in favour of BJP candidates.
The Sena-led coalition, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), also comprising the NCP and the Congress, is putting up a brave front by claiming the rebels will return.
The total strength of the Maharashtra Assembly is 287 and the majority, in the event of a trust vote, is 144. The ruling coalition of Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress has 169 seats. If the MLAs led by Shinde do resign, then the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) strength will fall below the majority mark, leading to a possible collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government.
Since the ‘rebellion’, Shinde has been removed from the post of legislative party leader and the rebel MLAs are currently camping at a hotel in Guwahati.