Maharashtra speaker to club disqualification pleas

In a significant decision, Maharashtra assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar has clubbed several of the disqualification petitions into six groups for hearing. The clubbing of the petition was a big bone of contention with the Uddhav Thackeray faction opposing the Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde-led faction's move to seek individual hearings against each of the Sena MLA who is facing disqualification.

On Friday, Narwekar announced that the petitions of disqualification would be clubbed in six groups and the petitions in the first group would be taken up followed by the second group.

"Today the assembly Speaker has ruled that the petitions could be clubbed together in different groups. There are 6 parts, six petitions of which four petitions belong to us and 2 belonging to the other side (Shiv Sena- Shinde that has also moved disqualification proceedings against the MLAs loyal to the Thackeray camp),.said Anil Parab a leader of the Thackeray camp after the hearing.

The development is a kind of victory for the Uddhav Thackeray faction who wanted all the 36 disqualification petitions to be clubbed into one and heard by the Speaker. The Uddhav Thackeray faction even approached the Supreme Court accusing the Speaker of delaying the proceedings on the disqualification. The Supreme Court has given the Maharashtra Speaker time till October 30 to give a timeline of the schedule in which he would complete the hearing.

Narwekar is likely to go to Delhi next week to hold consultations with Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to decide on the schedule. He has also asked both factions of Sena to submit documents related to disqualification by October 25. The next hearing on disqualification before the Speaker is on October 26.