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NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: In a meeting with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday, Shiv Sena (UBT) said two-thirds of its MPs cannot join or merge with another party on their own, without the initiative of their original party, and urged him to uphold provisions of the Constitution’s 10th Schedule, commonly known as the anti-defection law. Birla is expected to make a decision before the monsoon session of Parliament, which normally begins in the second half of July, and is consulting legal experts and both sides. Two of the party’s remaining 3 LS MPs, Arvind Sawant and Anil Desai, met Birla, who had called them following their submission to him that they must be heard before he makes a decision on 6 of their colleagues joining the Shiv Sena headed by Eknath Shinde. “We have confidence the Speaker as a custodian of Parliament will ensure justice is done,” Desai told reporters after the meeting. He said only a party can decide on merging with another party, and two-thirds of its MPs are needed to approve such a decision. The MPs cannot join or merge with another party on their own, he added. “All this can’t happen through a quick fix. The Constitution and democratic conventions must be upheld and followed in letter and spirit. The Speaker heard us. We told him we are the original party, and that Shiv Sena (UBT) and its chief Uddhav Thackeray haven’t decided to merge with any party, and there is no such plan in the future. We were told the Speaker has got a letter from the rebel MPs, but (he) promised to act in a just manner within the framework of the Constitution. We have given a letter from Uddhav Thackeray to Birla too,” Desai said.
