If years old friends become enemies, then a special beauty is seen in it. Both never leave any chance to humiliate each other. This is true in the case of Maharashtra. What happened when Shiv Sena separated from BJP, both of them are not even ready to see each other with a teary eye. The feud is so much that ministers like Anil Deshmukh, Nawab Malik are sitting in jail. Shiv Sena also left no chance to harm Rane’s father and son. At present, the screw is stuck regarding the election of the speaker.
The Uddhav government wants to hold the election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker on March 3, but Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has refused permission. In fact, there has been a tussle between the BJP and the Shiv Sena over the new rules for the elections. According to the notification issued by the Principal Secretary of the Assembly on 23 December 2021, the election will now be held through open voting system instead of secret ballot. Now the governor does not have the authority to announce elections. He will have the right to do so only after getting the advice of the CM.
After the formation of the government of Mahavikas Aghadi, the speaker’s post went to the account of Congress. But when Nana Patole resigned in February last year, this post became vacant. Patole had become the chief of Maharashtra Congress. At present, Deputy Speaker Narhari Jirwal is looking after the Speaker’s work. The rules regarding speaker election were amended in the winter session. The Uddhav Thackeray government had fixed December 28 as the date for the election of the speaker. However, BJP opposed the election saying that 12 of its suspended MLAs have been suspended for one year. This issue is pending in the Supreme Court. The court has also quashed his suspension.
BJP MLA Girish Mahajan challenged the amended rules for the Speaker’s election in the Bombay High Court saying that through this the CM has got the right to advise the Governor regarding the election. He got it wrong. He also raised questions on the CM getting the right to decide the date of the election. He said that the governor had to make this decision first. He also called the method of holding elections unconstitutional. Janak Vyas of BJP had filed 1 more PIL on the same issue.
The Uddhav government has termed the petition as politically motivated. However, dismissing the petitions, the High Court forfeited the security deposited by both the leaders. BJP leaders have challenged the High Court’s decision by filing a petition in the Supreme Court on March 13. On the other hand, Koshyari, in his decision on March 15, rejected the appeal of the government to hold elections saying that the matter is in the court.