Rahul Narwekar may be pressurised by BJP over decision on disqualification pleas against Sena MLAs: Ambadas Danve

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve expressed concern on Tuesday there may be pressure on assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar from the Centre or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regarding the decision on disqualification petitions involving Shiv Sena MLAs.

The Shiv Sena split in June last year following a rebellion by Eknath Shinde, who went on to become the chief minister with support from the BJP after unseating the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

The Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena had filed disqualification petitions against Eknath Shinde and the MLAs who supported him, including certain cabinet ministers. Following deliberations between the two Shiv Sena factions led by Shinde and Thackeray on Monday, Speaker Rahul Narwekar decided to schedule an official hearing on the disqualification petitions against the MLAs belonging to the Shinde group for October 13.

Addressing a press conference here, Leader of Opposition in the legislative council Danve said, The speaker is wasting time. We feel that there may be pressure on him from the Centre or the BJP. He is taking time in everything. I want to say once again that justice delayed is justice denied. The Sena (UBT) leader went on to blame the local political leadership for the flood-like situation in Nagpur due to heavy rains.

Danve spoke to the media in Ravi Bhavan after visiting the flood-affected areas of the city. Nagpur is becoming a concrete jungle and the basic infrastructure is being ignored. All the claim of work done in Nagpur is just to show off and people are not benefiting, he said. The massive concretisation of roads has affected the environment and forced people to face a flood-like situation amid rains, he said.