A petition has been filed in the Bombay High Court demanding that the rebel Maharashtra ministers currently camping in Guwahati should return to their home state to resume official duties, Live Law reported.
The public interest litigation has been filed by Utpal Baburao Chandawar, a resident of Maharashtra. His lawyer Asim Sarode mentioned the case before a bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice MS Karnik. The court said that it will consider listing the matter.
Nine ministers from the Shiv Sena are currently staying at a hotel in Guwahati, according to PTI. The rebel faction’s leader Eknath Shinde holds the portfolios of urban development and public works department.
Chandawar contended in his petition that the rebel ministers are neglecting their duties towards citizens who elected them. “Instead of working for the community, these Respondents are aiming at securing personal gains by instigating internal disorder within the governance of the State,” the petition stated.
The petition demands that Shinde and other rebel ministers should be asked to resume their duties. Action should be taken against them for neglecting their ministerial responsibilities, it added.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray handed over the portfolios of the rebel ministers to other state ministers, according to PTI. The chief minister did so in order to ensure ease of administration, according to an official statement.
With the nine rebel ministers in Guwahati, the Shiv Sena now has four Cabinet ministers – the chief minister, Aaditya Thackeray, Anil Parab, and Subhash Desai. Out of them, only Aaditya Thackeray is an MLA, while the others are members of the Legislative Council.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led government is currently in the middle of a political crisis that began when Shinde went to Surat with a group of rebel MLAs on June 21. He is now camping with them at a hotel in Guwahati.
On Saturday, the faction led by Shinde named itself Shiv Sena Balasaheb after party founder Bal Thackeray. The Shiv Sena subsequently passed a resolution saying that no one will be allowed to use the name of Bal Thackeray to form a new group.
The rebel MLAs are demanding that the Shiv Sena should cut ties with the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress.
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