Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde arrives to address media at a hotel where he is staying with other supporting MLAs, in Guwahati.
Highlights
- Rebel MLAs have been camping at a Guwahati hotel since last week
- MLAs faced criticism for staying at luxury hotel even as parts of Assam were flooded
- MLAs led by senior minister Eknath Shinde, have raised the banner of revolt against their party
Rebel Shiv Sena MLAs from Maharashtra have contributed Rs 51 lakh for the flood relief wok in Assam, where they have been camping since the last week. Shiv Sena Eknath Shinde donated Rs 51 lakh to the Assam Chief Minister's Relief Fund as contribution to the ongoing rescue work. The development came amid criticism that the Sena dissidents were staying at a luxury hotel in Guwahati even as parts of Assam were grappling with severe floods. These MLAs had first come to Guwahati on June 22 and subsequently in several batches from Gujarat's Surat in chartered flights.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma thanked the rebel MLAs for contributing to flood-relief efforts.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear the plea of Shiv Sena chief whip Sunil Prabhu challenging the Maharashtra Governor's direction to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government to take floor test in the Assembly on Thursday. A vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and J B Pardiwala took note of submissions of senior advocate A M Singhvi that an urgent hearing was needed in view of the decision taken by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari asking the MVA government to prove majority at 11 am on Thursday.
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Earlier, the apex court on June 27 had kept in abeyance the disqualification proceedings against rebel Shiv Sena MLAs before the Deputy Speaker of the state Assembly till July 11, and also sought responses from the state government and others on their pleas questioning the legality of notices seeking their disqualification.
The Sena legislators, led by senior minister Eknath Shinde, have raised the banner of revolt against their party. Shinde camp will be staying in a Goa-based hotel and reach Mumbai by 9.30 am on Thursday. Shinde said on Wednesday that he will return to Mumbai on Thursday for the floor test against the beleaguered Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena-NCP-Congress government.
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