The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has trained its guns on four MPs of the Uddhav Thackeray faction over the recently cleared Women’s Reservation Bill, issuing notices to them for not following the whip issued by the party.
Sena’s Chief Whip Bhavana Gawali issued notices to Vinayak Raut (Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg constituency), Omprakash Bhupalsinh (Osmanabad), Rajan Vichare (Thane) and Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani) who remained absent during the voting on the Bill.
In the notice, Gawali warned the MPs that the Chief Whip holds the authority to take necessary action against them for not toeing the party’s line.
“…When the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, a.k.a Women’s Reservation Bill was tabled in the Parliament, you were absent from the Parliament. Your absence from the Parliament during the special session itself shows your seriousness in matters pertaining to national interest(sic),” Gawali said in the notice issued by her.
She added: “…Your inaction to support the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 a.k.a Women’s reservation bill goes completely against the principles on which the Shiv Sena party was formed. Till date, you did not show your support in favour or against the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 a.k.a Women’s reservation bill, which makes it clear that you do not support the progressive bill which is important for our society and in lines with the ethos of our party. Further, you appear to be influenced by Sh. Uddhav Thackeray who has also till date not clarified his stand on the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 a.k.a Women’s reservation bill (sic).”
Krishna Hegde, leader of the Shinde camp, said the UBT MPs “have been elected by the people but they are not being responsible”.
“The fact that they are absent during discussion and voting on the Women’s Reservation Bill clearly shows their disregard for the women voters of the constituency. In fact, the en masse boycott shows that the party leadership is against empowerment of women and the women of Maharashtra will keep this in mind during the forthcoming elections,” he said.
However, reacting to the row, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Rajya Sabha MP and Shiv Sena UBT leader, said: “On the issue of the Shiv Sena, the Supreme Court verdict is very clear. The whip and leader appointed by the Shinde faction in the assembly are illegal and unconstitutional based on the anti-defection law and Schedule 10 of the constitution. In such a scenario, the whip issued by Gawali is not applicable to our Lok Sabha MPs. These notices indicate how the party is misusing its powers. They are rattled as they stand to be disqualified.”
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