On Saturday, Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra assembly Vijay Wadettiwar demanded that the hearing of the disqualification pleas of Shiv Sena MLAs by Speaker Rahul Narwekar be broadcast live.
MLAs from Shiv Sena factions led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray have filed disqualification pleas against each other after the party split following a rebellion led by Shinde last year. Narwekar said on Friday that he would hear the petitions next week.
Taking to X, Wadettiwar said that the disqualification petitions arising out of the rebellion in Shiv Sena are pending before the Speaker and the people of Maharashtra who are committed to the principles of justice and democracy are looking forward to it. He said the hearing of the petitions should be broadcast live to ensure that people’s trust in constitutional institutions, posts and democracy remains intact. I have made the demand for the live broadcast (of the proceedings) to Speaker Rahul Narwekar, Wadettiwar said.
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court issued a directive to Speaker Rahul Narwekar, instructing him to provide a timeline within one week for the resolution of the disqualification petitions filed against Eknath Shinde and the Shiv Sena MLAs who joined forces with the BJP to establish a new government in June 2022. The court expressed concern that despite its previous direction to promptly decide on the petitions, it appeared that no substantial progress had been made in this regard.