Presiding officers must remain above party politics: Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar

Rahul Narwekar. File Pic

Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar has said the "principal obligation" of the presiding officer of a legislature is to remain impartial and above party politics while allowing elected representatives to express their views freely, reported news agency PTI.

Speaking at the 84th All India Presiding Officers' Conference in Mumbai on Saturday, Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar, who faced severe criticism from the Shiv Sena (UBT) over his recent ruling on disqualification petitions, also said that constitutional offices should not be dragged into political bickering, reported PTI.

"We all are stakeholders in the political process but (at the same time) aloof from it, in a manner of speaking. The principal obligation of a presiding officer is to remain unbiased, impartial and above party politics while permitting the elected representatives to articulate their views freely," he said, reported PTI.

Recently, there have been instances of people making derogatory remarks about presiding officers, he said, adding, "I welcome any difference of opinion, but feel that it should be expressed in a dignified manner and language."

Earlier this month, Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar came under severe attack from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) after he gave a ruling recognising the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as the "real" Shiv Sena while hearing disqualification pleas filed by the two factions, reported PTI.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) accused him of behaving in a partisan manner.

Earlier this month, Maharashtra assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar said that his decision to recognise Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's faction as the real Shiv Sena was based on the guidelines provided by the Supreme Court.

He spoke to the media in Mumbai immediately after former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, at a press conference, attacked his January 10 ruling on disqualification petitions filed by both Shinde and Thackeray camps against each other's MLAs following a split in the party in June 2022, news agency PTI reported.

The speaker also justified his decision not to accept the undivided Shiv Sena's amended constitution of 2018. The party had then informed the Election Commission only about Uddhav Thackeray being the party chief but not submitted the amended constitution, he said, reported PTI.

In his ruling on real Shiv Sena, Narwekar held that the Sena's 1999 constitution was the valid one for deciding which faction was the real Shiv Sena. "My actions were based on the Supreme Court's guidelines," he said, reported PTI.

Rules framed by a party should not just be on paper but must be implemented, Narwekar further said, reported PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)