NCP workers observe 'traitors' day' to mark 1st anniversary of Shiv Sena rebellion, stage protest
Mumbai (PTI): The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders and workers observed "gaddar din" (traitor's day) on Tuesday in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra to mark the first anniversary of the rebellion by Shiv Sena legislators, including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Led by NCP working president and Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule, the party workers in Mumbai shouted slogans and carried symbolic "khoke" (cartons) to claim the rebel legislators took money to come to power in the state.
The rebellion in June last year led by Eknath Shinde culminated in the collapse of the then Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government, comprising the Sena, NCP and Congress.
On June 30, 2022, Shinde became the chief minister along with Devendra Fadnavis of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as deputy CM.
On Tuesday, the NCP workers along with Sule gathered at their party office in south Mumbai to stage a protest.
Sule and others shouted slogans like "Pannas (50) Khoke, Ekdum Ok", to allege that the rebel legislators had taken Rs 50 crore each as bribe.
In neighbouring Thane, which is also the home town of CM Shinde, NCP leader and former minister Jitendra Awhad led a similar protest.
The NCP workers piled up several cartons with "Pannas Khoke, Ekdum Ok" stickers on them at a spot and later burnt them as a mark of protest.
In Nagpur, the NCP workers staged a demonstration at the Variety Square in Nagpur and shouted slogans like "Khoke sarkar murdabad, gaddar aamdar murdabad" against legislators of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
Notably, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has written to the United Nations, urging it to declare June 20 as "World Traitors Day" to mark the "desertion" of his party chief Uddhav Thackeray by 40 Shiv Sena MLAs, including Shinde.
Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil last week asked the party cadres to protest against the rebel Shiv Sena legislators.
"NCP workers should organise protests in the nook and corner of the state by displaying symbolic 'khoke' (boxes of money) based on which the Eknath Shinde government has come to power," he said on Saturday.
Patil appealed to NCP workers to tell people that the temporary happiness of the Shinde camp, which was recognised by the Election Commission as real Shiv Sena, is on the wane and their days in government are numbered.
The Sharad Pawar-led party had earlier organised public meetings explaining the Supreme Court verdict on the political crisis in Maharashtra and how speaker Rahul Narvekar is duty-bound to disqualify 16 rebel MLAs.
The Supreme Court last month ruled that then Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari was not justified in calling upon then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to prove a majority in the Assembly on June 30, 2022. A constitutional bench had also observed that it cannot restore the Thackeray government as he resigned without facing a floor test.
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Ordinance issued to increase number of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38
New Delhi (PTI): The government has promulgated an ordinance to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from the present 34 judges to 38, including the Chief Justice of India.
The law ministry notified the ordinance on Saturday, which amended the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, to increase the sanctioned strength of the top court.
So far, the sanctioned strength of the top court was 34, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI). Now, the number of judges has been increased by four, taking the sanctioned strength to 38.
The top court will now have 37 judges, other than the CJI.
With the apex court having two vacancies at present, and the ordinance coming into force immediately, the Supreme Court Collegium will now have to recommend six names for appointment as judges in the top court.
A bill will be brought in the Monsoon Session of Parliament to convert the ordinance – an executive order – into a law passed by Parliament.
The Union Cabinet had cleared a draft bill on May 5 to increase the number of apex court judges.
The strength of the Supreme Court was last increased from 30 to 33 (excluding the CJI) in 2019.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, as originally enacted in 1956, put the maximum number of judges (excluding the CJI) at 10.
This number was increased to 13 by the Supreme Court (Number of Judges), Amendment Act, 1960, and to 17 by another amendment to the law.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1986, augmented the strength of judges from 17 to 25, excluding the CJI.
A fresh amendment in 2009 further increased the strength from 25 to 30.
Article 124(3) of the Constitution lists the qualifications required to become a Supreme Court judge.
An Indian citizen who has either served as a high court judge for at least five years, or as an advocate for 10 years, or is a distinguished jurist, can be appointed to the top court.
The strength of the Supreme Court is increased based on the recommendations of the CJI, who writes to the Union law minister. After consulting the finance ministry, the Department of Justice under the law ministry moves the Cabinet with a draft bill.
