Maharashtra: The Supreme Court said the Maharashtra floor test must be videographed and it must be presided over by an interim Speaker
Maharashtra: The Supreme Court said the floor test will be held tomorrowThe court has also said that the floor test must be videographed and it must be presided over by an interim Speaker to be appointed by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari immediately.
The newly formed Congress, Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) combine had petitioned the Supreme Court against the manner in which Devendra Fadnavis took power, in a secretive oath ceremony, along with Ajit Pawar of the NCP.
The centre argued that Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari invited Devendra Fadnavis to form government based on a letter showing the support of 170 MLAs, including all 54 of the NCP of Ajit Pawar, who was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister.
While Mr Fadnavis took charge on Monday, Ajit Pawar did not. The rival group of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress has submitted court documents with 154 MLA signatures and had called for an “immediate” test of strength in the Maharashtra assembly.
The role of the interim Speaker assumes much importance now. By convention, the senior most member of the assembly is interim or pro-tem Speaker.
Among the 288 members elected in last month’s elections, Balasaheb Thorat is the only one serving his eighth term. Nationalist Congress Party’s Dilip Walse-Patil, Jayant Patil and Ajit Pawar, Congress’s KC Padvi, BJP’s Kalidas Kolambkar and Babanrao Pachpute are serving their seventh term and the Speaker of the previous Assembly and BJP leader Haribhau Bagde, NCP’s Chhagan Bhujbal and BJP’s Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil are serving their sixth term.
Prasanta Patnaik