Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena contributes Rs 51 lakh for Assam flood relief

Taking his rebellion against Maharashtra chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray a few notches high, Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, who will shortly fly to Goa along with his 40-odd MLAs from Guwahati, On Wednesday further laid claim to the legacy of Shiv Sena as his party rather than Thackeray’s. Shinde announced that Shiv Sena would be contributing a sum of Rs51 lakh towards helping the flood-affected people of Assam. “Shiv Sena MLAs and allies have decided to contribute Rs 51 lakhs to the Assam CM’s relief fund to help the flood-affected people,” Shinde tweeted. Meanwhile, former CM and Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis has called a meeting of BJP leaders at his residence in Mumbai this afternoon. Moreover, the support for Shinde seems to be swelling with independent MLAs clearly foreseeing a ruling coalition with BJP to be coming to power in the state. “I am with BJP since beginning. Devendra Fadnavis took stand for me in the state Assembly…MLAs will get upset if work will not happen in their constituencies. Yes, there is no problem in that (of BJP coming to power in the state),” independent MLA Rajendra Raut said. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear Shiv Sena chief whip Sunil Prabhu’s plea challenging Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s direction to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to prove his majority on the floor of the House on 30 June. The court will hear the petition at 5 pm. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Shiv Sena, mentioned before the apex court the petition of party chief whip Sunil Prabhu, seeking an urgent hearing today (29 June) calling the floor test “illegal”. Minutes after Maharashtra Governor’s announcement of floor test on 20 June, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said that the Uddhav Thackeray faction will challenge the Governor’s decision of floor test in the Supreme Court. “This is an unlawful activity. The issue of disqualification of 16 MLAs is pending in the Supreme Court. Now if BJP and Governor House are trying to bring down the government, we will approach the Supreme Court and seek justice,” Raut said. “The speed in which the Raj Bhavan has acted on the demand [by BJP] is faster than the Rafael jets purchased by [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi,” he added. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.