The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction on Tuesday approached the Supreme Court against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla's decision approving the merger of its six Members of Parliament (MPs) with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
The matter was mentioned for urgent listing by senior advocate Devadatt Kamat before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. Kamat urged the court to hear the plea at the earliest, saying the Speaker's decision had brought the party's functioning in Parliament to a halt during the ongoing Monsoon Session, Live Law reports.
'Party's Functioning In Parliament Has Come To A Standstill'
Explaining the urgency, Kamat told the court that the six MPs were no longer with the Shiv Sena (UBT) and that the Speaker had recognised their merger with another party. "My functioning as a political party in the Parliament has come to absolute standstill. These MPs are not with me. The Speaker has recognized their merger with another party. And this is for this Parliament session," he submitted.
Responding to the request for an urgent hearing, the bench said it could not assure listing of the matter on Wednesday or Friday, but added, "Will see."
Merger Leaves Shiv Sena (UBT) With Three Lok Sabha MPs
According to reports, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla approved the merger of six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
The six MPs are Sanjay Deshmukh (Yavatmal), Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani), Sanjay Dina Patil (Mumbai North East), Nagesh Patil-Ashtikar (Hingoli), Omprakash Rajenimbalkar (Dharashiv) and Bhausaheb Wakchaure (Shirdi).
With the merger taking effect, the Shiv Sena (UBT) is now left with only three MPs in the Lok Sabha, marking a significant setback for the Uddhav Thackeray-led party's strength in the House.
