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Maharashtra

Shiv Sena(UBT) petitions Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla amid ‘rumours’ of split

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Mumbai, June 17: In a pre-emptive move against a brewing political rebellion, the Shiv Sena(UBT) leader in the Lok Sabha, Arvind Sawant, in a petition before the Speaker, Om Birla, has sought his intervention to block any attempts by disgruntled lawmakers to orchestrate a fresh split or merger in the Lower House of Parliament.

The extensive four-page letter, dated June 16, was written amid swirling media reports about “Operation Tiger”. The media report suggested that up to seven of the party’s nine Lok Sabha MPs are contemplating breaking away to align with the rival Eknath Shinde-led faction or other political forces.

Sawant has explicitly flagged these backroom manoeuvres. “There are reports appearing in the media that certain Members of Parliament elected on the symbol of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) have either approached, or are contemplating approaching, your office seeking recognition as a separate group or a merger with another political party within the Lok Sabha,” he said.

Sawant emphasised that the parliamentary wing owes its existence entirely to the parent organisational party and that the constitutional framework does not permit “multiple competing formations” to represent the same political party inside the House.

A core segment of Sawant’s petition relied heavily on constitutional law and judicial precedent to dismantle the strategy often used by defecting factions.

Sawant said there is no Constitutional protection for a ‘Split’, and that following the deletion of Paragraph 3 of the Tenth Schedule via the Constitution (Ninety-first Amendment) Act, 2003, the law no longer recognises splinter groups within a legislature as a defence against disqualification.

Citing the Landmark Supreme Court judgment in ‘Subhash Desai vs. Principal Secretary, Governor of Maharashtra & Ors.’ (2023), he has argued that the power to appoint a whip, leader, or issue binding directives flows exclusively from the parent political party, not the legislative group.

Addressing rumours that numerical strength (the two-thirds mark) is enough to break away, Sawant clarified that Paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule requires two distinct conditions to be satisfied conjunctively: first, a merger of the original political party itself, and second, the support of at least two-thirds of the legislative members. “Without an actual merger of the organisational Shiv Sena(UBT), any standalone action by the MPs would constitute a voluntary relinquishment of membership, triggering immediate disqualification under Paragraph 2 of the Anti-Defection Law,” he remarked.

Sawant has requested the Lok Sabha Speaker to take the formal representation strictly on record, refuse any separate recognition, status, privilege, or facility to any purported breakaway faction and ensure no decision is taken on any rogue request without first granting the principal Shiv Sena(UBT) leadership a fair opportunity to present its case.

The submission of this letter comes at a highly volatile moment. Rumours have intensified as multiple UBT MPs reportedly arrived in New Delhi simultaneously with Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde.

Compounding the anxiety within the Uddhav camp, senior MP Sanjay Raut recently launched a scathing attack on the ruling dispensation, alleging that opposition lawmakers were being offered astronomical sums of up to Rs 15 crore each to defect.

While the Shinde faction has publicly dismissed accusations of engineering defections, the appearance of Sawant’s comprehensive legal letter signals that the Thackeray loyalists are bracing for a bruising constitutional battle to protect their presence in Parliament.

Maharashtra

17-year-old among three killed in Mumbai high-end car accident (Lead)

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Mumbai, Sep 20: A 17-year-old was among the three people who were killed in a serious accident involving a high-end car on the Mumbai Coastal Road early on Sunday, officials said.

Another person is critically injured and is currently receiving treatment.

According to information received from the Coastal Road Control Room, the accident occurred at around 5.20 a.m. near Lotus Jetty, opposite Lala College.

The car was travelling from Marine Drive towards Haji Ali when the driver allegedly lost control of the vehicle due to overspeeding.

The speeding vehicle crashed onto the Coastal Road and hit a boundary wall. It fell off the bridge into an area where construction work was underway.

The severity of the accident was evident from the extent of the damage to the car.

The vehicle tore off through the signboard hanging from the bridge. The roof of the car was pushed inwards, the windshield was shattered, and the bonnet was completely destroyed.

Following the accident, all four occupants of the car were rushed to Nair Hospital, where emergency medical teams assessed their condition.

According to an update issued by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Nair Hospital at around 8.40 a.m., three of the occupants were declared brought dead by doctors.

Two of the deceased have been identified as 21-year-old Shanay Gajjal and 17-year-old Dhirya Seth. The identity of the third deceased is yet to be ascertained.

The injured has been identified as 23-year-old Aditya Oswal.

Speaking about the incident to media, Senior Police Inspector Meena Jagtap said: “At around 5:20 a.m., a black BMW was travelling from Marine Drive towards Haji Ali in the northbound direction when it fell from the Coastal Road. There were four people in the car. Three people died, while Aditya is currently at Nair Hospital.”

She said that it is yet to be ascertained whether the occupants of the car were in an intoxicated state when the accident occurred.

Police are investigating the case.

Further details are awaited.

On September 3, several people were booked after Mumbai Police took cognisance of a viral video showing luxury and high-performance cars speeding and racing dangerously inside the Marine Drive-Southbound Coastal Road tunnel.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, three people were critically injured after a speeding off-road SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) hit them near PKC Hospital in Vashi, Navi Mumbai.

The driver fled the spot after the crash instead of helping the injured.

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Maharashtra

BEST bus driver injured after head-on collision with private travel bus in Mumbai

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Mumbai, Sep 20: A BEST bus operating on Route 496 collided head-on with a private travel bus in Mumbai Mulund West early on Sunday, leaving its driver injured and triggering a minor fire in the vehicle.

The incident took place at around 5.50 a.m. in Mulund West, where ongoing Metro construction work on LBS Marg had restricted traffic movement to a single lane.

The BEST bus was travelling from SEEPZ towards Teen Hath Naka in Thane when it was involved in a collision with an oncoming private travel bus.

The impact of the head-on collision caused the steering wheel of the BEST bus to strike the abdomen of its driver, identified as 40-year-old Sandeep Namdev Karande.

He sustained injuries to his abdomen and right leg and also suffered heavy bleeding following the collision.

Soon after the impact, a minor fire broke out in the bonnet of the BEST bus, creating an additional emergency at the spot.

The conductor of the bus immediately responded by using the fire extinguisher available onboard and managed to douse the flames.

Following the accident, the conductor immediately arranged for the injured driver to receive medical attention, and Karande was rushed to the Agarwal Hospital in Mulund.

Authorities said that Karande was conscious and in a stable condition after being admitted to the hospital.

He was being treated for the injuries sustained in the collision.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, three people were killed, and another was critically injured in a serious accident involving a high-end car on the Mumbai Coastal Road early on Sunday, officials said.

According to information received from the Coastal Road Control Room, the accident occurred at around 5.20 a.m. near Lotus Jetty, opposite Lala College.

The car was travelling from Marine Drive towards Haji Ali when the driver allegedly lost control of the vehicle, reportedly due to overspeeding.

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Maharashtra

8-year-old among two electrocuted to death near Ganpati Pandal in Mumbai Lalbaug

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Mumbai, Sep 20: A tragic incident marred the Ganesh festival celebrations in Mumbai Lalbaug area after an electric shock near the pandal left two people dead and four others injured early on Sunday, officials said.

An 8-year-old girl died in the incident, while four others sustained serious injuries. A second death was reported later, when officials said a woman at Global Hospital had also succumbed to her injuries.

According to preliminary information from the fire brigade, the incident occurred at around 2 a.m. on Sunday when devotees were present near the pandal.

Two boys and three girls, aged between 8 and 20, reportedly came into contact with the electrical current and suffered burn injuries.

Following the incident, all five victims were rushed to Masina Hospital in Byculla for treatment. Doctors declared the 8-year-old girl Raghni Ghanshyam Yadav dead upon arrival.

Kiran Akbar Naik, 19, Tanvi Narsh Hande, 19, Sahil Sandip Tare, 19, and Ruhi Singh, 12, were undergoing treatment for injuries sustained in the incident.

Meanwhile, a second victim, a woman who was admitted to Global Hospital in Parel, later succumbed to her injuries. Her identity was yet to be ascertained.

Among the injured, one girl was reportedly in critical condition and was shifted to Global Hospital in Parel for further treatment. The remaining three injured victims are undergoing treatment at Masina Hospital and have been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), where their condition remains serious.

The incident has cast a pall of gloom over the festive celebrations in the Kalachowki area.

Further details on the circumstances that led to the electrical current spreading are awaited.

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