CM Uddhav Reallocates Cabinet Berths, Strips Rebel Sena Ministers Off Portfolios

As the rift within Shiv Sena entered the second week, Maharashtra Chief Minister and the party’s chief, Uddhav Thackeray on Monday re-allocated the portfolios held by rebel MLAs, including Eknath Shinde and Uday Samant.

While Shinde was the Cabinet Minister of Urban Development and Public Works, Samant held the Higher and Technical Education portfolio in the Maharashtra government, led by CM Thackeray.

The Sena now has four cabinet ministers, including CM Uddhav Thackeray, Aaditya Thackeray, Anil Parab, and Subhash Desai. Barring Aaditya Thackeray, the rest three are MLCs.

In the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by the Sena, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party had 10 Cabinet-rank ministers before the rebellion and four Ministers of State (MoS), including two from the Sena quota. All the four MoS have joined the rebel camp in Guwahati.

The development came on a day when the Maharashtra political fiasco reached the Supreme Court as the Shinde camp knocked on its door against the disqualification notice issued by the deputy speaker to him and 15 other rebel legislators.

Shinde on Sunday moved the apex court with a plea that called the Deputy Speaker’s action “illegal and unconstitutional” and sought a stay on it. A vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and J B Pardiwala ON Monday began hearing Shinde’s plea seeking directions to the deputy speaker to not take any action in the disqualification petition against him.

Meanwhile, Shinde, in his plea, said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance has lost the majority in the House after 38 out of 55 Shiv Sena MLAs withdrew support from the Legislative Party.

Shinde and a sizable number of MLAs rebelled against the leadership of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on June 21 and are currently in Guwahati in Assam. Their main demand is that the Sena withdraws from the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, which also comprises the Congress and NCP.

Shinde in his plea said that he is constrained to invoke the jurisdiction of this Court under Article 32 of the Constitution challenging the “arbitrary and illegal” exercise of provisions of Members of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly (Disqualification on ground of Defection) Rules, 1986 by the deputy speaker which is completely violative of Article 14 and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution.

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