Maha governor acted faster than Rafale after BJP met him: Raut

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday termed the Maharashtra governor's order asking the Uddhav Thackeray-led government to prove its majority in the assembly as "unlawful", saying that the Supreme Court is yet to decide on the disqualification of 16 rebel MLAs.

Raut also took a dig at governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, saying that he acted swiftly after a group of Bharatiya Janata Party leaders met him and urged him to ask the government to prove its majority in the assembly in view of the rebellion in the ruling Shiv Sena.

The governor sent a letter to the Maharashtra legislature secretary late on Tuesday night, directing him to hold a floor test of the Shiv Sena-led government at 11 am on June 30.

"This (floor test order) is an unlawful activity as pleas of disqualification of 16 MLAs are pending before the Supreme Court. If such unlawful activities take place, and if the governor and the BJP trample upon the Constitution, then the SC has to interfere," Raut told reporters in the morning.

"We will go to the Supreme Court and seek justice. We are confident that if the floor test is carried out in accordance with the law, then we will definitely win," he added.

Later in the day, the Shiv Sena approached the Supreme Court, challenging the governor's direction to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government to prove majority. The apex court agreed to hear at 5 pm on Wednesday the plea filed by Sena's chief whip Sunil Prabhu.

The governor's order came hours after BJP leaders, including former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, met him on Tuesday night and urged to ask the Thackeray-led government to prove its majority in the Assembly, claiming that the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress coalition dispensation seemed to be in minority as 39 Sena MLAs who belong to the Shinde faction have said they do not support it.

Raut said according to the Shiv Sena, the 16 rebel MLAs stand disqualified.

If the BJP tries to snatch power with such unlawful activities on the floor of the House, then will people keep quiet, he asked.

Taking a dig at the governor, Raut said the Raj Bhavan has acted at a "jet speed even faster than Rafale" after BJP leaders met him.

He reminded the governor that the file pertaining to the nomination of 12 members to the Upper House of the state legislature from his quota has been pending with him for a long time.

Hitting out at Fadnavis, Raut said the leader of the opposition in the assembly has been working to destabilise the MVA government since the day it was formed two-and-a-half years ago.

Fadnavis, tipped to make a comeback as the chief minister, had met the governor at the Raj Bhavan Tuesday night and urged him to call for a floor test after a rebellion by majority of Shiv Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde.

Raut claimed he has been holding talks on the governor's order with several leaders, including the chief ministers of West Bengal and Telangana, and everyone feels the governor's order for a floor test is "extra-constitutional".