Shinde hails Hindutva's victory as SC stays disqualification of rebel MLAs

After the SC's order, it is more likely that Eknath Shinde and other rebel Shiv Sena MLAs will push for a floor test in the Maharashtra Assembly to prove the minority of the ruling MVA alliance

Rebel Shiv Sena MLA Eknath Shinde on Monday said the Supreme Court's move to stay disqualifications of him and other dissident Sena lawmakers was the victory of Bal Thackeray's Hindutva and the ideals of his mentor Anand Dighe. 

The top court has kept in abeyance the disqualification proceedings before the Deputy Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly till July 11 and sought responses to pleas by rebel MLAs questioning the legality of notices seeking their disqualification. 

Maharashtra Assembly Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal, while issuing a disqualification notice, had asked the 16 rebels, including Shinde, to respond by 5.30 pm June 27 on why they should not be disqualified under the anti-defection law. Now, a vacation bench of SC comprising Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala has allowed them to reply by July 12.

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The SC also refused to pass any interim order on Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government that there should not be any floor test in the Assembly. The SC told the Maharashtra government that they could always approach it in case of illegality.

The faction war in Shiv Sena triggered the political turbulence in Maharashtra after Minister Eknath Shinde flew to Surat with some MLAs and then to Guwahati, where Shinde claimed to have the support of 38 of the 55 Shiv Sena MLAs, which is more than two-thirds of the party's strength in the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

Almost 40 MLAs are camping with Shinde in a Guwahati hotel; however, as per media reports, nearly 20 of them are in touch with CM Thackeray as some are against a merger with the BJP.

Thackeray handed over portfolios of nine rebel Maharashtra ministers to other ministers on Monday. Shiv Sena, which heads the ruling MVA alliance in Maharashtra, now has four cabinet ministers, including CM Uddhav Thackeray, Aaditya Thackeray, Anil Parab and Subhash Desai. Barring Aaditya Thackeray, the rest three are MLCs.

After the SC's order, it is more likely that the rebel MLAs will now push for a floor test in the Maharashtra Assembly to prove the minority of the ruling MVA alliance.