New Delhi
Amid an impending split in the Shiv Sena Parliamentary Party, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is in the national capital to review on Tuesday the legal strategy on the disqualification petition against 16 MLAs supporting him filed by the Uddhav Thackeray camp. The plea will come up for hearing in the apex Court today. Shinde is also likely to meet the breakaway faction of the Shiv Sena MPs here on Tuesday, a day after he was anointed as the ‘chief leader’ of the party at the national executive meeting. I will definitely meet MPs. Why only 14, we have 18 members in the Lok Sabha, Shinde said when asked by reporters about his meeting with the breakaway group of Shiv Sena MPs in the national capital. Asked about his visit to Delhi, the chief minister said he was here for discussions with the legal team on the disqualification petition against 16 MLAs supporting him filed by the Uddhav Thackeray camp. He will also hold discussions with the legal team on the Other Backward Class (OBC) reservations issue as the matter is expected to come up for hearing in the Supreme Court. The Maharashtra government is committed to providing justice to OBCs, Shinde told reporters here. The breakaway faction of the Shiv Sena members is also expected to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday with a plea to recognise them as a separate group in the lower house. To questions on a clutch of petitions related to the Maharashtra political crisis scheduled for hearing in the Supreme Court today, the chief minister said he has faith in the judiciary. We have unwavering faith and trust in our judiciary. In a democracy, the majority holds significance, Shinde said.
