Ajit Pawar says after Patole’s resignation as Speaker we could have dealt with disqualification of 16 MLAs

The matter of disqualification  of 16 MLAs following the upheaval in the undivided Shiv Sena last year could have been effectively dealt with had the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) moved swiftly after the resignation of Nana Patole as the Speaker of Maharashtra Assembly, said senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar.

Pawar said Thackeray’s demand for the resignation of CM Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis is futile as there is a great difference between former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and current people, he said.

First of all, the then Speaker of the Assembly (Patole) resigned without consulting the then CM Uddhav Thackeray. It was announced only after he resigned. It should not have happened in the first place but it happened, said Pawar.

After Patole’s resignation (in February 2021), the MVA, which had NCP, Congress and undivided Sena as partners, should have taken up the issue of the Speaker’s appointment, he said. But unfortunately, we as MVA, failed to do that, said Pawar, who was the deputy chief minister in the MVA government.

The issue of disqualification, triggered by the Shinde faction’s revolt, could have been resolved had there been a Speaker, he said. But for a long time, the deputy speaker was looking after the House proceedings, said Pawar, who is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.

Supreme Court on Thursday held that it cannot restore the MVA government led by Thackeray as he resigned without facing a floor test in June last year and asked the Speaker to decide on the disqualification of 16 MLAs within a reasonable period.