Heena Sharma Blog

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has to prove his majority in the Assembly on Wednesday, said the Supreme Court as it ruled on a petition filed against the governor’s surprise decision to swear in the BJP leader. The floor test will be through open ballot and it will be recorded on video, the court said in a decision welcomed by the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party, and the Congress. The court ordered Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to ensure that all newly elected MLAs are sworn in by 5 pm on Wednesday. A pro-tem or temporary Speaker will administer the oath, said a bench comprising Justices N V Ramana, Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna. "In a situation wherein, if the floor test is delayed, there is a possibility of horse-trading, it becomes incumbent upon the Court to act to protect democratic values. An immediate floor test, in such a case, might be the most effective mechanism to do so," said the court, prompting the three-party alliance to dec...

The BJP on Wednesday took potshots at former ally Shiv Sena’s attempts, asking it how it planned to fit its ‘ Hindutva ’ ideology, which the two share, in the common minimum programme (CMP) it is trying to sew up with ideological opponents, NCP and Congress. “ It is up to the Shiv Sena how to fit their ‘Hindutva’ agenda in the CMP with the Congress,” senior BJP leader and Union minister Raosaheb Danve said. “The Congress, which is a 150-year-old party, will obviously take its agenda further (in government),” he said. ‘ Hindutva’ has been the Sena’s ideological leitmotif, and the glue that made BJP and Sena stick together for over 30 years. Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had responded to a similar question at his press conference on Tuesday evening. He said he was collecting information on how the BJP struck alliances with such ideologically distinct parties as the Peoples’ Democratic Party, Janata Dal (United), Lok Janshakti Party, and Telugu Desam Party. Read More