Maharashtra temporary speaker changed, BJP to move Supreme Court

Mumbai, Nov 30: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra may approach the Supreme Court against the Maha Vikas Aghadi's decision to replace pro-tem speaker Kalidas Kolambkar with Dilip Walse Patil.

Dilip Walse Patil replaced the BJP's Kalidas Kolambkar as the temporary Speaker by the Maha Vikas Aghadi government for the two-day special assembly session that begins today.

Today's trust vote proceedings, in which Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will have to prove his majority, will be conducted by temporary Speaker Dilip Walse Patil of the NCP. A permanent Speaker will be elected tomorrow.

"They (Maha Vikas Aghadi) changed pro-tem Speaker from Kalidas Kolambkar to Dilip Walse Patil, this is legally wrong. The oath was also not taken as per rules. The new government is violating all the rules. We are a filing petition with the Governor and might also approach the Supreme Court," BJP leader Chandrakant Patil said.

By convention, the senior-most MLA is usually elected a pro-tem Speaker, though there has been a departure in the past. State Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat is the senior-most MLA with eight terms in the 288 member Maharashtra assembly.

The BJP leader also said the swearing-in of the Uddhav Thackeray ministry is illegal as it went beyond prescribed format.

"Ministers while taking oath included names of their leaders and other figures which is not as per protocol," Patil​ told reporters at Vidhan Bhawan.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik rubbished Patil's claims saying many BJP MPs had done the same thing. "If Patil's​ yardstick is used, half the Lok Sabha will be empty," he added.

Uddhav Thackrey took charge as the chief minister of Maharashtra on Friday.