New Delhi: Shiv Sena chief whip Sunil Prabhu challenged in the Supreme Court the Maharashtra Governor’s direction to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government to take a floor test Thursday in the Assembly. In his plea Prabhu said the order to conduct a floor test in a ‘supersonic speed’ amounts to putting the cart before the horse.
Senior advocate AM Singhvi is appearing for Prabhu. He told a Supreme Court vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala that two MLAs of the NCP are down with Covid-19. He also pointed out that two MLAs of the Congress are abroad. They have been asked to participate in the floor test Thursday, but it is impossible for them. “People who have changed sides do not reflect the will of people and heavens won’t fall if floor test is not held tomorrow (Thursday),” Singhvi told the bench.
Singhvi argued that allowing floor tests would mean making Tenth Schedule a ‘dead letter’.
The bench observed that the Tenth Schedule is one of the robust provisions and the court should strengthen it.
Earlier in the day, the bench had taken note of submissions of Singhvi that an urgent hearing was needed in view of the decision taken by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari asking the MVA government to prove the majority at 11.00am Thursday.
The petition has contended that the Governor vide communication dated June 28, 2022 (which was received today i.e. on June 29 at about 9:00 am) has decided to hold a floor test in complete defiance of the fact that this court is seized of the issue of the disqualification proceedings.
“Such undue haste is manifestly arbitrary and therefore violative of Article 14,” said the plea and sought directions seeking setting aside of the impugned communication sent by the Governor to the Chief Minister as well as to the secretary of the Assembly.
The Governor’s letter comes amid the rebellion in the ruling Shiv Sena by senior minister Eknath Shinde, who has been camping in Guwahati since last week with the majority of party legislators and several independent MLAs, which has pushed the government led by Uddhav Thackeray, who is also the Sena president, into a crisis.
