Sharad Pawar to take legal steps to prevent NCP split
With respect to Ajit Pawar of the NCP joining ruling coalition of the BJP and SS in Maharashtra two days back, claiming the support of a substantial number of his party’s MLAs, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said today that he is seeking legal opinion to tackle the crisis in the party.
This was announced by NCP national spokesperson Clyde Crasto who said that “taking a legal opinion is necessary as this issue concerns Schedule 10 of the constitution”.
Schedule 10 talks about the anti-defection law, which is designed to prevent political defections prompted by the lure of office, material benefits or similar considerations, and also deals with the issue of disqualification on the ground of defection and the role of the speaker or the chairman of the House (state assembly or parliament).
According to Crasto, the Ajit Pawar-led faction does not enjoy the support of more than 13 MLAs and therefore, can attract the provisions of the anti-defection law.
Ajit Pawar is the nephew of the NCP supremo, and has a long-standing dispute with his uncle regarding his position in the party. Notably, he is being investigated for the last many years in a number of corruption cases.
The same is the case with NCP general-secretary Praful Patel, who too joined the ruling coalition with Ajit Pawar.
