Yet to ascertain whether NCP is in government or Opposition: Maha Assembly Speaker
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar has said he is yet to ascertain whether the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is a part of the Shiv Sena-BJP government or is still in the Opposition.
On Sunday, senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar led a vertical split in the party to become deputy chief minister in the one-year-old Shiv Sena-BJP government, shocking his uncle Sharad Pawar, who founded the outfit 24 years ago after quitting the Congress.
Besides Ajit Pawar, eight other NCP MLAs, including Chhagan Bhujbal and Hasan Mushrif, were sworn in as ministers in the Shinde cabinet.
Speaking to reporters here on Monday, Narwekar said his office has not yet received any petition mentioning about a split in the party.
“I am yet to ascertain whether the NCP is a part of the state government or is still in the Opposition bloc. I will go through the details available before me and take a call on it," he said.
Ajit Pawar was the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly before he took oath as deputy CM.
Narwekar said, “I have received only one petition from NCP MLA Jayant Patil seeking disqualification of nine MLAs (Ajit Pawar and eight others who took oath as ministers along with him). There is no written communication from any other leader of the NCP.".
“I have not received any petition mentioning about a split in the party,” he stated.
Asked how many NCP MLAs have expressed their support to Ajit Pawar, Narwekar said, “I do not have any information on it because there is no written communication from his side. The party-wise strength in the Legislative Assembly still remains unchanged.”.
The Sharad Pawar-led party has 53 MLAs in the 288-member Assembly.
The Speaker said his office has received several representations from legislators related to recent developments in the NCP.
"We will look into them, study their legality and then only take a decision," he said without elaborating on the nature of representations received by his office.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
At UN, India flags concerns over targeting of vessels in Strait of Hormuz
United Nations (PTI): Targeting commercial shipping, endangering civilian crew and impeding freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz is "unacceptable", India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Parvathaneni Harish has said.
Harish's remarks at a special meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNECOSOC) on safeguarding energy and supply flows came days after an India-flagged commercial vessel came under attack off the coast of Oman.
Omani authorities rescued all 14 crew members of the vessel sailing from Somalia, but it was not immediately known who carried out the strike.
In a post on X on Sunday, Harish said that at the UNECOSOC meeting, he shared India's approach to the recent energy and fertiliser crisis caused by the West Asia conflict.
"A combination of short-term and structural measures alongside international cooperation are essential to respond to the crisis," he said.
"Reiterated that targeting of commercial shipping, endangering civilian crew and impeding freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, are unacceptable. International law in this regard must be fully respected," he added.
The attack on the India-flagged vessel on May 13 took place amid the fragile situation in the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway close to the coast of Oman through which roughly one-fifth of the world's energy supplies pass.
It has been severely disrupted by the conflict in West Asia that started on February 28, with the US and Israel launching joint attacks on Iran, triggering retaliatory strikes.
Earlier, India had described the attack as "unacceptable".
At least two other Indian-flagged ships have been attacked since the conflict broke out.
According to the UNECOSOC website, the meeting, which took place on Friday, focused on “Safeguarding energy and supply flows: Supporting global development through international cooperation”.
