Explain or face disqualification: Uddhav Sena's warning to MPs who skipped meet
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) has escalated its crackdown on rebel MPs amid growing speculation of a mass defection to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) has escalated its crackdown on rebel MPs amid growing speculation of a mass defection to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's camp under the so-called 'Operation Tiger'. The party has issued fresh show-cause notices to six absentee Lok Sabha MPs and warned them of disqualification under the anti-defection law if they fail to explain their conduct within 24 hours. Read Full Story In the notice issued by Shiv Sena (UBT) chief whip in the Lok Sabha, Anil Desai, the MPs have been asked to submit a written explanation for skipping the party's parliamentary meeting in Delhi.
The party has made it clear that failure to respond within the stipulated deadline would be treated as voluntarily giving up membership of the organisation, paving the way for action under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. UDDHAV MPs SKIP MEET The move comes as the Uddhav Thackeray camp battles what it believes is a coordinated attempt to engineer a split in its parliamentary ranks. The crisis came to the fore on Thursday when only three of the party's nine Lok Sabha MPs – Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai and Rajabhau Waje – attended a meeting convened by the party leadership.
The absence of six MPs triggered speculation that they were preparing to cross over to the Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Those absent included Nagesh Aashtikar, Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Dina Patil, Omprakash Rajenimbalkar and Bhausaheb Wakchaure. Soon after, Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut announced that the process of seeking their disqualification had already been initiated. "The process for taking action has started. We will make every effort to get them disqualified," Raut said. "If the Lok Sabha Speaker acts according to the rules, the law and Supreme Court directives, these people will be disqualified," he added.
'OPERATION TIGER' IN ACTION? The developments come against the backdrop of 'Operation Tiger'. The term has gained traction in Maharashtra's political circles following claims by Shiv Sena MLC Chandrakant Raghuvanshi that six UBT MPs had expressed faith in Eknath Shinde's leadership and had already aligned with his faction. For the UBT camp, the stakes are particularly high. After losing control of the original Shiv Sena organisation and symbol to the Shinde faction, another split in its parliamentary ranks would further weaken Uddhav Thackeray's position ahead of key political battles in Maharashtra. Ends
The BriefWire