The ongoing political turmoil within the Shiv Sena took a new turn as the Eknath Shinde-led faction accused the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena UBT of submitting forged documents before Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar. The Shinde-led party submitted an application seeking a thorough inquiry through an investigative agency to probe the authenticity of the documents presented during the disqualification hearing.
In response, the Shiv Sena UBT dismissed the allegations as delay tactics employed by the Shinde-led faction to hinder the disqualification proceedings against Shinde-led Sena MLAs. The Shinde-led Sena, through lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani, claimed that the UBT faction submitted fabricated documents with the intent of building a false case against Shinde-led Sena MLAs. The application further accused Sena UBT MLA Sunil Prabhu of lying under oath during the disqualification hearing.
The Shinde-led Sena urged the Speaker to issue directions for an investigative agency to conduct a detailed inquiry into the submitted documents. They requested the seizure and confiscation of all electronic devices, including computers and mobile phones, belonging to Prabhu, MP Anil Desai, and Sena (UBT) party office secretary Vijay Joshi at the legislature party office of Shiv Sena (UBT).
The Shinde faction alleged that Prabhu, under oath, made false statements to pursue a malicious agenda of seeking the disqualification of Shinde-led Sena MLAs. The application emphasized the need to investigate the offenders for presenting forged documents and to seize electronic devices in their custody. During Prabhu’s cross-examination, it was revealed that the Shiv Sena’s constitution lacked specific provisions to disqualify MLAs under Schedule 10. The Shinde-led Sena’s application referred to an email sent by the Uddhav faction to Eknath Shinde on June 23, 2022, containing a letter dated June 22, 2022. The Shinde group disputed the authenticity of the email, claiming that the email ID did not belong to CM Shinde and urged the Speaker to seek information from Google to verify the records of the email’s creation.
