The Uddhav Thackeray camp in the Supreme Court on July 4 accused Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar of deliberately delaying disqualification proceedings against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for defection.
The petition, filed in the top court amidst the ongoing churn in Maharashtra politics following Ajit Pawar’s split from NCP to join the Shinde Cabinet as Deputy Chief Minister, said Speakers should “rise above their political affiliations” while performing the duties of the office.
The Thackeray faction said Mr. Narwekar’s conduct has been in “brazen disregard” of his constitutional duties as a neutral arbiter under the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law) of the Constitution.
