Shiv Sena (UBT) Issues Show-Cause Notices to Rebel MPs, Vows to Continue Fight

The split in Shiv Sena (UBT) became virtually official on Thursday after six of the party’s nine Lok Sabha MPs skipped a parliamentary party meeting, prompting the leadership to issue show-cause notices to the rebels. “We have issued show-cause notices to the MPs who did not attend; they have been given seven days to respond. The process has been initiated, and we will seek their disqualification. If the Speaker acts according to the law and rules, they will be disqualified. The fight will continue in Parliament, in court, and on the streets. The fight on the streets has already begun. The security of these traitors has been enhanced. Let them even bring in the Indian Army. That is the only thing left to be deployed for the security of traitors,” Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said. Earlier in the day, only three party MPs — Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai and Rajabhau Waje — attended the parliamentary party meeting in Delhi . Sanjay Patil, Omraje Nimbalkar, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Deshmukh, Bhausaheb Wakchaure and Nagesh Patil Ashtikar were absent. The notice stated that the whip “was duly received by you on your registered email ID and WhatsApp”, creating a formal record that the communication had been officially delivered to the concerned MPs. It further stated that the MPs had “neither communicated with the group leader, Sawant, nor with the undersigned chief whip, giving any reason or intimation regarding your absence from the said meeting. This absence is viewed as anti-party activity”. The Sena (UBT) on Wednesday had issued a three-line whip directing all its Lok Sabha MPs to attend the meeting amid reports that two-thirds of the party’s MPs were preparing to cross over in an attempt to avoid disqualification under the anti-defection law. The party has already met Speaker Om Birla and urged him not to recognise any breakaway faction. Sena (UBT) leaders argued that under Paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule, protection from disqualification is available only when at least two-thirds of members of the “original party” merge with another party and the legislature party also supports such a merger by a two-thirds majority. Despite Patil, Wakchaure and Ashtikar claiming on Wednesday that they were not defecting, their absence from the 11 am meeting indicated that they had joined the rebel camp. Sena (UBT) sources said the party had been particularly hopeful of retaining Ashtikar, as his son is contesting the MLC elections with the party’s backing. With hopes of persuading some rebels to reconsider appearing to have faded, Raut struck a defiant note, telling reporters: “Jo aayenge wo hamare; jo nahin aayenge wo beimaan-gaddaar” (Those who come are ours; those who do not are dishonest and traitors). Meanwhile, the rebel MPs are learnt to have passed a resolution stating that they were leaving because the party had strayed from Balasaheb Thackeray’s principles and because of concerns that it could eventually merge with the Congress. Sawant, meanwhile, told The Indian Express that voters “will teach the rebelling MPs a lesson for going against Balasaheb Thackeray’s party”. Raut also questioned the legitimacy claims of the Eknath Shinde-led faction and asked when Shinde’s Sena had become the original Shiv Sena. Referring to the pending Supreme Court proceedings on the party split, he said: “Jahan Thackeray, wahan Shiv Sena (Shiv Sena is where Thackeray is)”. He also accused the ruling establishment of engineering defections. “What kind of game is being played with democracy? You keep saying you will break this one, break that one. How many will you break? How much fun are you having? These ED and CBI threats — whom are you threatening? Us? We have already gone to jail and come back. We are ready to go to jail again.” Constitutional experts say the legal route available to the Sena (UBT) may be more complicated than a straightforward disciplinary matter. “A whip is unquestionably applicable to proceedings inside the House. However, whether it applies to an internal parliamentary party meeting remains legally ambiguous. The issue of the applicability of a whip outside House proceedings is still pending before the Supreme Court,” constitutional expert Anant Kalse said. Kalse said the show-cause notices may have limited immediate effect if the rebel MPs have already initiated formal legal steps. “If these MPs have already formed a separate group and submitted a letter to the Speaker, then issuing notices now may not make much difference. Even if notices are issued, what happens if they simply do not respond and proceed ahead? In that case, Sena (UBT)’s immediate option would be to approach the Speaker, file a disqualification petition and then move the court,” he said.