MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena on Tuesday requested the Maharashtra Governor not to administer the oath to any minister in the Eknath Shinde government, saying the legality of the decision to appoint Shinde as the chief minister is in question.
In a letter to governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Shiv Sena's general secretary Subhash Desai said the issues related to the disqualification of 39 MLAs are also pending before the Supreme Court.
"Appointment of ministers and/or offering any remunerative posts to persons against whom disqualification proceedings under the Tenth Schedule are pending, and who may be disqualified will be against the letter and spirit of Article 164 (1B) as well as Article 361B," the letter said.
Rewarding persons against whom disqualification proceedings are pending with ministerial berths or remunerative posts would be "totally destructive" of the Constitutional scheme, the letter added.
"The issues pertaining to the disqualification of 39 MLAs are pending consideration before the Supreme Court. Further, the question of the legality of the decision to appoint Eknath Shinde as the chief minister is also sub judice before the Supreme Court," it said.
The much-awaited expansion of the Maharashtra cabinet led by CM Shinde may take place after the July 18 presidential polls, the Shinde-led camp of Shiv Sena MLAs had indicated.
Currently, CM Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are the only members of the cabinet.
They had taken oath on June 30.
Talking to reporters, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said the Eknath Shinde-led government is illegal, and so is the post of the chief minister.
"This is a legal fight. The Cabinet expansion is not happening. If ministers take the oath then that would be against the Constitution," Raut said.
Until the Supreme Court gave its verdict, the Shinde government is illegal, he alleged.
Raut also said the Governor has been urged not to administer the oath to any minister after the Supreme Court's relief to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena on Monday.
In a relief to Shiv Sena MLAs of the Uddhav Thackeray faction, the Supreme Court has asked newly-elected Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar not to proceed with the plea seeking their disqualification which was sought by the Shinde camp on the ground of defying party whip during the trust vote and the election of the speaker.
In a fresh setback to Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, party spokesperson and former Mumbai corporator Sheetal Mhatre crossed over to the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde faction on Tuesday.
Mhatre is the first former corporator of Shiv Sena from Mumbai who has openly announced support for Shinde.
She had represented ward no 7 in suburban Dahisar in north Mumbai in 2012 and 2017.
On Tuesday night, Mhatre along with some Shiv Sena workers visited Shinde's residence and expressed her support to him.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena had appointed Mhatre as the 'sampark sanghatak' (coordinator) for the Alibaug-Pen area.
The crucial elections for the Sena-controlled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are slated to be held in the next few months.
Shinde's rebellion last month led to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
He was sworn in as the chief minister on June 30 with Bharatiya Janata Party's Devendra Fadnavis as the deputy CM.