The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction has approached the Supreme Court challenging Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s decision recognising the merger of six of its MPs with the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The plea comes days after the Speaker approved the change in the political affiliation of the six MPs, a decision that increased the Shinde-led faction’s strength in the Lok Sabha to 13. The move has intensified the continuing legal and political contest between the rival factions of the Shiv Sena.
The UBT faction is contesting the legality of the Speaker’s decision and is expected to argue that the six MPs could not independently effect a merger of the legislative wing without a merger of the original political party itself.
The dispute centres on the interpretation of the anti-defection law under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. The UBT faction has maintained that the constitutional exception relating to a merger does not permit legislators to unilaterally merge with another faction or political party. According to its position, the merger must first involve the original political party, following which members of the legislature party may choose whether to accept the merger.
The challenge before the Supreme Court adds another legal dimension to the prolonged battle between the Uddhav Thackeray-led and Eknath Shinde-led factions, which has continued since the 2022 split in the Shiv Sena.
The Speaker’s decision had come shortly before the commencement of Parliament’s Monsoon Session and was seen as a significant boost to the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the ruling National Democratic Alliance. The UBT faction, however, has disputed the legal basis of the decision and has now sought the Supreme Court’s intervention.
The petition is likely to bring into focus the scope of the Speaker’s powers under the Tenth Schedule and the constitutional requirements governing mergers of political parties and legislative parties
The post Shiv Sena moves Supreme Court against LS Speaker nod to six MPs joining Shinde faction appeared first on India Legal.