Disqualification pleas of Shiv Sena factions: Shinde group seeks separate hearings, Thackeray faction disagrees

Disqualification pleas of Shiv Sena factions As Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar on Thursday heard the disqualification petitions filed by rival Shiv Sena factions led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray the Shinde camp sought separate hearings reported the PTIAccording to the PTI the Uddhav Thackerayled faction however insisted that there was no need for hearing the petitions separately as the reason behind all the pleas was the sameWhile Rahul Narwekar had earlier started the process to hear the pleas the first actual hearing of disqualification pleas against Shinde and 15 other MLAs was held at Vidhan Bhavan on Thursday according to counsels who represented the warring sidesAfter the hearing was over for the day senior counsel for the Shindeled group Anil Sakhare told reporters Every person who is a party to the disqualification petitions has something to say about it Thus we demanded separate hearings of the petitions instead of clubbing them all together as per the PTIHis contention was countered by the Uddhav Thackerayled Shiv Sena UBTRajya Sabha member Anil Desai said Our demand for the clubbing of all the disqualification petitions and conducting the hearing accordingly still remains the same as the cause mentioned in every petition is the sameAll petitions filed from the Sena UBT side pertain to disqualification of MLAs who joined the other side Shinde faction he saidWe urge the speaker that there is no further delay in deciding the petitions Justice delayed is justice denied Desai saidRahul Narwekar on Wednesday said he had advanced the hearing on the disqualification petitions to Thursday from Friday as it was clashing with the G20 Parliamentary Speakers Summit P20 in Delhi on October 13 Narwekar said he didnt want to delay the matter any furtherThe Shiv Sena factions filed a barrage of disqualification pleas against each other last year after Shinde and 39 MLAs broke away from the parent party and sided with the BJP to form the governmentIn July the speaker had issued notices to 40 MLAs of the Shindeled Sena and 14 of the Thackeray faction seeking their replies on disqualification petitions against themThe notices were issued against a total of 54 MLAs But notice was not issued against Sena UBT MLA Rutuja Latke who was elected after the Shiv Sena split last yearSunil Prabhu from the Thackeray faction in his capacity as chief whip of the undivided Shiv Sena had filed the disqualification petitions against Shinde and 15 other MLAs last year after the rebellion and resultant split in the partyOn May 11 this year the Supreme Court ruled that Shinde will continue to be the chief minister of Maharashtra It also said that it cannot reinstate the Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA coalition government headed by Thackeray as the latter chose to resign without facing a floor test in the wake of Shindes rebellionThe Shiv Sena UBT has been accusing Narwekar of deliberately delaying in arriving at a decision on the disqualification pleasOn September 21 Rahul Narwekar said he would not delay the decision on the disqualification pleas of some Shiv Sena MLAs but wouldnt rush into it either as it may result in miscarriage of justicewith PTI inputs