Headline: Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Prepares for Marathon Sessions Amidst Disqualification Hearings
Maharashtra Assembly Speaker, Rahul Narwekar, expressed the need to extend working hours to address disqualification petitions while ensuring the smooth functioning of the House during the Winter Session scheduled in Nagpur from December 7 to December 20.
Narwekar conveyed to reporters in Nagpur that managing both responsibilities would require him to work from 9 am to 10 pm during this period. He emphasized the challenge of maintaining the legislative assembly’s smooth operations while attending to pending disqualification hearings. Currently, Narwekar is presiding over cross-petitions filed by rival factions within Shiv Sena, each seeking the disqualification of the other’s MLAs following a party split last year.
He specified that on Thursday, he would dedicate two and a half hours at the Vidhan Bhavan in Nagpur to hear the disqualification petitions. The speaker acknowledged the difficulty of balancing the dual responsibilities of conducting hearings and overseeing the House’s functioning.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) faction is seeking the disqualification of 40 rebel MLAs led by Shinde, who opposed Thackeray, resulting in the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in June 2022 and a split within the 57-year-old party. The Shinde camp has alleged that documents submitted by the Thackeray-led group for disqualification are “fake.”
The Supreme Court has set a deadline for the speaker to decide on the disqualification petitions by December 31.
