The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) has finally split again, after six MPs of the party met Lok Sabha Speaker Omprakash Birla in Delhi on Wednesday and submitted a letter stating that they are forming an independent group.
The Speaker has finally approved the splinter group, marking the success of ‘Operation Tiger’. The MPs will join the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on June 19, the 60th foundation day of Shiv Sena.
The six MPs who are likely to form a breakaway group include Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani), Bhausaheb Wakchaure (Shirdi), Sanjay Deshmukh (Yavatmal), Nagesh Patil Ashtikar (Hingoli), Omraje Nimbalkar (Dharashiv), and Sanjay Patil (Mumbai North East). With this, Shinde’s Sena will now have the strength of 13 MPs, making them the third-largest party in the NDA.
All six MPs have arrived in Delhi on Tuesday night for a meeting with Eknath Shinde held at the Delhi residence of Shinde’s son and MP Dr Shrikant Shinde. Besides Minister Pratap Sarnaik and the MPs, a legal advisory team of 16 people was also present in this meeting. Shinde has taken a very cautious stance so as not to face disqualification.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) on Wednesday issued a whip directing its MPs to attend a meeting in New Delhi to discuss 'important issues,' a move aimed at paving the way for disqualification proceedings against rebel leaders. The Thackeray faction, which now has only three MPs, has written to the Speaker demanding that only their party be given the official status.
Lok Sabha MPs Arvind Sawant and Anil Desai, along with Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut, met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday.
"Under the law, one cannot simply merge with a party even if they have the support of two-thirds of the MPs. Only the original party can merge if a group has the required two-thirds strength," he said. "The discretion lies with the speaker. So if a group claiming to have two-thirds support approaches to merge with another party, that group cannot be recognised under the rules, as only the original party can merge under the provisions. Even if there are six MPs, it does not matter," Desai added.
