Pune: The matter of disqualification of 16 MLAs following the upheaval in the undivided Shiv Sena last year could have been effectively dealt with had the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) moved swiftly after the resignation of Nana Patole as the Speaker of Maharashtra Assembly, said senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Friday.
Mr Pawar was speaking to reporters in Pune a day after the Supreme Court delivered its verdict on the political crisis that led to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government following a rebellion by Eknath Shinde, who later allied with the BJP to become the chief minister.
Mr Thackeray’s demand for the resignation of Chief Minister Shinde and his Deputy Devendra Fadnavis is futile as there is a great difference between former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and “current people”, he said.
“First of all, the then Speaker of the Assembly (Patole) resigned without consulting the then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. It was announced only after he resigned. It should not have happened in the first place but it happened,” said Mr Pawar.
After Mr Patole’s resignation (in February 2021), the MVA, which had NCP, Congress and undivided Sena as partners, should have taken up the issue of the Speaker’s appointment, he said.
“But unfortunately, we as MVA, failed to do that,” said Mr Pawar, who was the deputy chief minister in the MVA government.
The issue of disqualification, triggered by the Shinde faction’s revolt, could have been resolved had there been a Speaker, he said. But for a long time, the deputy speaker was looking after the House proceedings, said Mr Pawar, who is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.
