NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notices to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, the Lok Sabha Secretary and six rebel Shiv Sena MPs on a plea filed by the Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) faction challenging the Speaker’s decision to recognise the merger of the six MPs with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.The top court has further posted the matter for hearing after two weeks.The plea was filed by UBT MP Arvind Ganpat Sawant against the Speaker’s decision, which was approved ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament. A bench comprising Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe issued notice to the respondents while refusing to stay the Speaker’s order at this stage.Moved to SC earlierThe Shiv Sena (UBT) on Tuesday approached the Supreme Court challenging Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s decision to approve the merger of its six MPs with the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde.Senior advocate Devadatt Kamat, appearing for the Uddhav Thackeray-led party, mentioned the matter before a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, seeking an urgent hearing on Wednesday.Merger alters Lok Sabha numbersAhead of the Monsoon Session, Speaker Om Birla approved the merger of six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs with the Shinde-led Shiv Sena.The MPs are Sanjay Deshmukh (Yavatmal), Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani), Sanjay Dina Patil (Mumbai North East), Nagesh Patil-Ashtikar (Hingoli), Omprakash Rajenimbalkar (Dharashiv) and Bhausaheb Wakchaure (Shirdi).With the merger, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena’s strength in the Lok Sabha has come down to three MPs, while the Shinde-led Shiv Sena’s tally has increased to 13 MPs, making it the third-largest constituent of the NDA after the BJP and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).Reacting to the development, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde said the six MPs joined his party to secure development for their constituencies and not for “personal gains”.
