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Maharashtra Government: The top court ordered the floor test after the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)-Congress alliance had petitioned the court against the manner in which BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis took power on Saturday
Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Saturday. (File)NEW DELHI: The Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra has to prove majority by tomorrow, the Supreme Court ruled today on a petition challenging the surprise government formation by the BJP in the state. The court has ordered a trust vote “within 24 hours”. The top court ordered the floor test after the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)-Congress alliance had petitioned the court against the manner in which BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis took power on Saturday morning at a quiet oath ceremony. The alliance had called the Fadnavis government “illegal”, demanding an immediate floor test.
Here is your five-point cheat sheet on Maharashtra floor test:
- Floor test to be conducted by tomorrow: A three-judge bench said today that that the floor test has to be conducted by tomorrow after all the members of Maharashtra assembly are elected by 5 pm.
- Pro-tem speaker to be appointed: The trust vote will be presided over by a pro-tem or interim Speaker. The top court has directed Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to ensure that all elected members of the house are sworn in before the floor test, including the interim speaker. The role of the pro-tem speaker assumes much more importance now.
- MLAs to take oath by 5 pm: The top has directed Maharashtra Governor to ensure that the entire exercise of electing all the members of the House is completed by 5 pm.
- Live telecast of floor test: A bench comprising Justices N V Ramana, Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna also said the entire proceedings would be telecast live.
- No secret ballots: Voting in the assembly shall not be on the basis of secret ballot, the top court said.
Prasanta Patnaik