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As the December 31 deadline set by the Supreme Court draws closer in connection with the disqualification of 16 Shiv Sena MLAs, the hearing process has speeded up with the Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA and party's chief whip in legislative Assembly Sunil Prabhu's cross-examination for the second consecutive day on Wednesday.
Sunil Prabhu was cross-examined by the lawyer representing Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Wednesday during the hearing of Sena MLAs' disqualification pleas. During the cross-examination, Shinde-led Sena's lawyer Mahesh Jethmalaani questioned Prabhu about the whip he claimed to have issued last year on June 21 when a group of MLAs led by Shinde launched a rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena and went to Surat and Goa. After the hearing, Jethmalani while speaking to the reporters alleged that the whole case is based on the claim of whip issued by the Sena UBT but no such whip was issued and the whip the Sena UBT is claiming to have issued is a forged one. "Uddhav Thackeray Faction's whole disqualification petition is based on a whip issued on June 21 by Sunil Prabhu. We have formed the ground after cross-examination; this is prima facie a forged whip, and it was never sent," he said. Last year, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde who was then a Minister in the Eknath Shinde cabinet broke away from the Shiv Sena along with a bunch of Shiv Sena MLAs, joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party and formed the government toppling the Uddhav Thackeray led Maha Vikas Aghadi government. The Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena claimed to be the 'real' party and claimed the party name and the symbol which was subsequently granted to the rebel group by the Election Commission. However, a total of 56 rebel MLAs are facing disqualification proceedings under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution pending before Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar. (ANI)
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