Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs to Meet Speaker Over Merger of Six Party MPs

Two Shiv Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha MPs, Anil Desai and Arvind Sawant, are scheduled to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at 5 p.m. on Wednesday in his Parliament chamber. The meeting follows the merger of six of the nine Shiv Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha members with Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena faction.

This is the first meeting between the Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders and the Speaker after the party submitted a caveat letter seeking a hearing before any decision on the merger is taken. The party has criticised the lack of transparency, questioning why the House has not been informed about the merger and why details of the split and merger have not been declared by the Speaker's office.

“We had given a caveat letter. We had sought that we should be informed first. We had said that our say should be taken in the matter. His office has given us an appointment for today,” a party leader said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders have highlighted that when other groups meet the Speaker, information is publicly shared, including photos on his social media. However, in this case, no such information has been provided. “If anybody goes to meet the Speaker, the information is put out by his office. The photos are shared on his social media handle. There is openness and transparency in the matter. But when it has come to this merger, there is no information about it,” a party leader said.

Leaders of Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena have stated that all legislative processes for inducting the six MPs are complete. “We are not going to share any further details. But let me assure you, that we have completed all the processes. The MPs have also met the Speaker, apart from submitting a letter to him,” a senior party leader said.

Constitutional expert Anant Kalse noted that the Shiv Sena (UBT) can approach the Supreme Court seeking intervention. He added, “But considering that the previous case about the split in 2022 is itself pending, these names can now be added in the same petition.”