The turmoil in the Maharashtra government has reached the Bombay High Court with a public interest litigation (PIL) being filed seeking action against the rebel Shiv Sena (SS) leaders including Eknath Shinde, who is holding the Urban Development Department portfolio.
Apart from seeking action against the rebel MLAs, the PIL filed by seven citizens urges the court to question them on who is footing their bills for the hotel stay and chartered flights.
Appropriate action should be initiated against the SS MLAs for the "omission of duties and moral wrongs committed, leading to disrespect towards the public rights and good governance", stated the plea.
The PIL was mentioned before a division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice MS Karnik on Monday by advocates Asim Sarode and Ajinkya Udane. The HC has kept the plea for hearing at a later date.
The plea seeks that the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government be directed to submit a detailed plan of assurance, detailing the process of governance in the absence of several of its ministers.
The rebel leader should be directed to return to the state from Gawahati, where are currently put up, and resume their duties, seeks the plea adding that the MLAs were disregarding the oath taken by them under the Constitution.
Highlighting the drawbacks of the current political turmoil, the PIL states that the "Citizens' public rights are getting ignored" while causing "nuisance to the citizens as the ministers are neglecting their duties".
"Instead of working for the community, the respondents (Shinde and other rebel MLAs) are aiming at securing personal gains by instigating an internal disorder within the governance of the State," adds the PIL.
Since the voters do not have a say in coalitions and alliances, the politicians, once elected start considering themselves as "not less than God".
The PIL has raised the question as to how were the MLAs footing their expense of staying at lavish hotels and taking chartered planes for their travel.
"At Surat, it is reported that they were residing at Le Meridian and in Guwahati they are residing at Radisson Blue Hotel. It has been revealed from various news reports and videos that all the ministers and MLAs have travelled by chartered plane," states the PIL citing media reports. It further adds: "It is expedient for the citizens to know how elected representatives of people are spending such huge amounts and whether they are using money from public funds to travel in chartered planes and reside at lavish five star hotels."
The MVA government (coalition of SS, NCP and Congress) went into turmoil after Shinde and various SS MLAs and independent MLAs went incommunicado and later surfaced, first in Surat and then in Guwahati.
On Sunday, Shinde approached the Supreme Court against the disqualification notice issued by the Maharashtra Assembly's deputy speaker to him and 15 other rebel legislators.
Sena too filed a petition before the Election Commission seeking to restrain Shinde from using the name "Shiv Sena" or "Balasaheb"
