A day after he ruled that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led faction is the 'real Shiv Sena', Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar claimed that there was nothing illegal or irregular in his ruling, which rejected Uddhav Thackeray faction's petition to disqualify 16 MLAs of Shinde group.
To Shiv Sena (UBT)'s decision to approach the Supreme Court, the Speaker said that approaching the apex court does not mean that the order passed by him is overturned.
"Did you expect any other reaction? Kindly show any illegality or irregularity in my ruling. If there is any, I will answer. Every citizen of India has the right to approach the High Court and the Supreme Court. Just because you approached the Supreme Court does not mean that the order passed by the Speaker is overturned; you have to establish that it is illegal or untenable in the eyes of the law. Such baseless allegations do not substantiate that," Narwekar told reporters.
He also clarified that his meeting with the Chief Minister had nothing to do with the ruling. The Speaker added that no law prohibits a speaker who is to announce a verdict on the disqualification pleas to meet the Chief Minister. "I am the head of the legislative board; CM is a member, we have to meet every month to discuss the issue," said Narwekar.
Meanwhile, Shinde has called the ruling victory of truth. "This is the victory of Shiv Sena workers and the people of Maharashtra. In a democracy, majority matters. So, as I see it, this decision is based on merit. Nobody can use a political party as private property. This ruling has come as a bog shock to people, who run political parties through dynasties," Shinde told reporters.
