Maharashtra: Supreme Court agrees to hear Shiv Sena's plea against floor test

Mumbai: Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has asked the Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra to prove his majority on the floor of the House on June 30 citing that the "present political scenario" unfolding in the state paints a "very disturbing picture. Meanwhile,  Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday termed the Maharashtra Governor's order for a floor test of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government as "unlawful", saying that the Supreme Court is yet to decide on the disqualification of 16 rebel MLAs. He said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the ruling coalition of Sena, NCP and Congress, are approaching the Supreme Court and seek justice on this issue. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the plea at 5 pm today of Shiv Sena chief whip Sunil Prabhu challenging Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari's direction to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to prove his majority support on the floor of the House on June 30.

Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari issued a letter to the Maharashtra Legislature Secretary late on Tuesday (June 28) night, directing him to hold a floor test of the Shiv Sena-led government at 11 am on June 30. The governor's order came a week after the rebellion in the ruling Shiv Sena by senior minister Eknath Shinde, who has been camping in Guwahati with a majority of party legislators and several independent MLAs. Their revolt has pushed the government led by Thackeray, who is also the Sena president, into a crisis. Taking a dig at the governor, Raut said the Raj Bhavan has acted at a "jet speed even faster than Rafale" after BJP leaders met him, urging him to seek a trust vote.

He reminded the governor that the file pertaining to the nomination of 12 MLCs to the Upper House of the state legislature from his quota has been pending with him for a long time. "This (floor test order) is an unlawful activity as pleas of disqualification of 16 MLAs are pending before the Supreme Court. If such unlawful activities take place, and if the governor and the BJP trample upon the Constitution, then the SC has to interfere," Raut told reporters. "We will go to the Supreme Court and seek justice," he had earlier said.

In a jolt to the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, senior Shiv Sena Minister Eknath Shinde and other rebel MLAs revolted against the party on June 20 and camped in Gujarat's Surat. Later, the rebel MLAs shifted base to a hotel in Guwahati. On Monday, a separate plea was filed by Shinde in the Supreme Court court regarding the safety of the legislators who have challenged party chief and Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala heard the pleas on Monday."This is the win of the Hindutva of Balasaheb Thackeray and the ideas of Anand Dighe," Eknath Shinde tweeted after the Supreme Court deferred the disqualification proceedings of rebel MLAs till July 11.

How the numbers add up at Maharashtra Legislative Assembly:

Following is the party position in the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly:

Shiv Sena 55
NCP 53
Congress 44
BJP 106
Bahujan Vikas Aghadi 3
Samajwadi Party 2
AIMIM 2
Prahar Janshakti Party 2
MNS 1
CPI (M) 1
PWP 1
Swambhimani Paksha 1
Rashtriya Samaj Paksha 1
Jansurajya Shakti Party 1
Krantikari Shetkari Party 1
Independents 13

There is one vacancy due to the death of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke last month. Out of the 55 Shiv Sena MLAs, 38 are in Guwahati along with 10 independents. Two NCP members - Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal - have tested Covid-19 positive, while two other party legislators - Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik - are currently in Jail.