India News | NCP Split: Welcome SC Order, Our Case Different from Sena Rebellion, Says Tatkare

Mumbai, Oct 30 (PTI) Lok Sabha MP Sunil Tatkare on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court's directive to the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar to decide by January 31, 2024 the National Congress Party's petition seeking disqualification of nine MLAs of the Ajit Pawar faction.

Tatkare, who is part of the deputy chief minister's faction, said his party has always believed its case was different from the rebellion in the Shiv Sena, which took place in June last year.

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The top court, during the day, also asked Narwekar to decide the cross-petitions filed by the rival factions of the Shiv Sena seeking disqualification of each other's MLAs by December 31.

The NCP split on July 2 after Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde government, after which the group led by party founder Sharad Pawar submitted petitions seeking their disqualification.

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Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Tatkare said, "We are satisfied with the decision of the Supreme Court to treat the petitions filed against us separately. We have consistently maintained our case is different from that of the Shiv Sena."

He claimed the decision taken under the leadership of Ajit Pawar was based on some of the previous decisions of the Election Commission of India and the apex court.

Tatkare also said it was the "speaker's right to decide on the way the petitions have to be treated" as "the number of petitions filed before the speaker are in large numbers".

Queried on the Maratha quota issue, he said the community must be given reservation in a legally sound manner without touching the benefits of Other Backward Classes.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)