SC seeks Speaker response to UBT plea against MPs' merger with Sena

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to test the validity of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla's decision to recognise the merger of six Sena UBT MPs with the rival Eknath Shinde-led faction on a plea filed by Sena UBT, alleging that it amounts to creating a constitutional hara-kiri, and weakens the very foundation of parliamentary democracy.A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe issued notice to the office of LS Speaker and six rebel MPs seeking their response on a petition filed by Sena UBT MP, Arvind Sawant. The top court sought their response and posted the case after two weeks, when it would consider interim prayer for staying the order.Senior advocate Devadatta Kamat, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that the case involves important questions of constitutional morality and propriety and the whole thing was "orchestrated" only for the purposes of Parliament session.The petition said the legislators cannot decide on a merger with another political party. "In the present case, the original political party has categorically asserted that there is no merger; therefore, the Speaker could not have permitted a group of legislators, irrespective of their numerical strength, to merge into another political party," it added.