MUMBAI: The Congress would have to wait to get the post of the leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra House even though it is the single largest party with 45 MLAs.
Assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar has conveyed to a Congress delegation that officially, he has no record of a split having taken place in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). As per his record, the NCP remains the largest opposition bloc with 54 MLAs in the 288-member Assembly. The Speaker sought more time to check the legal status of the NCP and the appointment of the LoP.
Earlier on Tuesday, a state Congress team consisting of the party’s legislature party leader Balasaheb Thorat and former party chief minister Ashok Chavan, Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad met the Speaker and him to appoint party MLA Vijay Wadettiwar as LoP.
They said the Congress is the single largest opposition party with 45 MLAs. The post has been vacant after erstwhile LoP Ajit Pawar joined the incumbent government as the Deputy CM recently.
Sources said Speaker Narwekar has decided to consult the advocate general and his party seniors before offering the LoP letter to Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar.
“We are aware that BJP will not give anything so easily to us. Earlier people said Congress was delaying in choosing the LoP name; now that we have chosen the name, the Speaker is sitting over our letter of appointment. This is our legitimate right to get the LoP post as per our strength in the House. If the Speaker does not act soon, then we have no option but to knock on the doors of the court,” said a senior Congress leader.
Another Congress leader said the party delegation told the Speaker that if he is confused about the NCP split, he could check who was in the government. The nine NCP MLAs who took the ministerial oath are a part of the incumbent government.
“We fail to understand how one party (NCP) can be in power and in Opposition at the same time. The Speaker needs to act as per constitutional provisions,” said a former Congress chief minister.
Congress’ Balasaheb Thorat said they already got an email from the NCP that they had no objection to the appointment of Wadettiwar as LoP because Congress is a bigger Opposition grouping.
“The Ajit Pawar-led faction is already in the government while another faction led by Sharad Pawar has given us a letter saying it has no objection to the appointment of a Congress MLA as LoP, then why should the Speaker have any issue over it? We expect the Speaker will act without any prejudice. We hope justice will prevail,” Thorat said.
It is perhaps for the first time that a Speaker has to decide the status of a party which is seen in the Opposition as well as in the government.