Explained: As Maharashtra political crisis continues, a look at why the Assembly is without a Speaker

The role of Narhari Zirwal , the Deputy Speaker in the Maharashtra Assembly, in the crisis that is playing out in the state, has thrown up many questions, including that of where is Maharashtra’s Speaker. In a crisis like this, the Governor and the Assembly Speaker are the final arbiters. However, Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari is indisposed as he is in hospital after testing positive for COVID-19. Additionally, the Assembly has been functioning without a full-time Speaker as Nana Patole, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government’s choice, stepped down from the position in 2020. Who is Nana Patole? Nana Patole, Congress leader and legislator from Sakoli constituency in Vidarbha, has influence in the peasant Kunbi community. Though he began his political career in the Congress, he switched sides to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and was elected from the Bhandara-Gondia constituency in 2014 from the saffron party. However, he returned to the Congress in December 2017 after criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He had also criticised the then BJP-led Maharashtra government for the way it was implementing the farm loan waiver scheme. He said the government was insensitive to farmers’ problems and farmer suicides. He had also said that the prime minister did not like to take questions. As per the power-sharing plan of the MVA alliance, the Shiv Sena got the chief minister’s post, the NCP was handed the deputy chief minister’s post and the Congress was given the Speaker’s position. This post was handed to Nana Patole in 2019. Speaker steps down However, in February 2021, Nana Patole stepped down from the Speaker’s post after he was appointed as the chief of the state unit of the Congress. His resignation had irked the Shiv Sena and the NCP, with both the allies expressing their displeasure to the Congress. Shiv Sena MP and chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut had told the Indian Express that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had felt that when things were going smooth for Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, there was no need to disturb the arrangements. Since then, Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal has been discharging the duties of the Speaker. [caption id=“attachment_10844861” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Nana Patole, Congress leader and legislator from Sakoli constituency in Vidarbha stepped down from the Speaker’s position in 2021. PTI[/caption] Hurdles to appoint new Speaker With Nana Patole’s resignation from Speaker, there was a need to fill this position. In the Winter Session last year, amendments were made by the rules committee to the election of the Speaker, with the government fixing the date for election as 28 December. The changes in the rules were pertaining to the date of election and the manner in selecting the Speaker. As per Rule 6 of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Rules, “The Governor shall fix a date for the holding of the election and the Secretary shall send to every member notice of the date so fixed.” However, the amendment meant that the date of election of the Speaker was to be notified by the Governor on the recommendation of the chief minister, rather than the Governor announcing the same. Also, the “secret ballot” system for election was replaced with an “open” voting system, under which the Speaker could be chosen by a “show of hands or voice vote”. However, the BJP opposed these changes, accusing the MVA of running the “most insecure government. It also was against the election in December as 12 lawmakers of the party had been suspended for a year during the Monsoon Session held in July. BJP MLA Girish Mahajan had also moved the Bombay High Court alleging that the changes in the rules for the election of the Speaker was “illegal and arbitrary.” The court dismissed his plea challenging the validity of new rules of ‘open voting method’ to elect the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the state Assembly respectively. Unhappy with the high court’s ruling, Mahajan took up the fight to the Supreme Court saying that the MLA Rules are procedures established by law and cannot be derogated by the Assembly. Governor Koshyari had also objected to the rules, saying he would check if these were in accordance with the Constitution. Due to this, the government deferred the elections. When the MVA government announced their plan to hold the Speaker election in the Budget Session that commenced on 3 Marc, and sought the go-ahead of the Governor, Koshyari denied permission, stating that the matter was sub-judice. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.