Mumbai, Nov. 29 (PTI): The Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance will face floor test in the Assembly on Saturday.
The floor test will be held in the afternoon, a Vidhan Bhawan official told PTI.
Governor B K Koshyari has asked Thackeray to prove majority by December 3.
NCP MLA Dilip Walse Patil was on Friday appointed as pro tem speaker of the Assembly. He replaces BJP MLA Kalidas Kolambkar who was earlier this week appointed to the post.
Walse Patil is a former speaker of the Assembly.
Thackeray, who is also the Shiv Sena president, was sworn-in as the chief minister on Thursday evening and hours later, presided over his government's first cabinet meeting.
Besides Thackeray, six other ministers - two each from the Sena, the Congress and the NCP - also took oath.
NCP to get dy. CM post, speaker to be from Congress — Ajit Pawar
NCP leader Ajit Pawar said on Friday that as per the agreement between constituents of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi, his party is supposed to get the post of deputy chief minister, while the Speaker would be from the Congress.
Pawar's statement followed reports that the Congress is now demanding deputy chief minister's post, and is ready to give up the Speaker's post to the NCP.
"There is no question of NCP deciding candidate for the Speaker's post," Pawar told reporters here.
"It was decided (in the meeting of top leaders of the three parties) that chief minister will be from Shiv Sena, deputy CM from NCP and Speaker's post will go to the Congress and deputy Speaker's post to the NCP," Ajit Pawar said.
To a question about cabinet expansion, set to take place after December 3, Pawar said chief minister Thackeray will take a call on it.
Sources in the Congress said that the party is now seeking deputy chief minister's post.
"The party had earlier sought Speaker's post, and it was agreed on among three parties. But it is now seeking the deputy chief minister's post and is ready to give up Speaker's post to NCP," a Congress leader said.
Another Congress leader said the party was not averse to the idea of two deputy chief ministers (one from Congress and one from NCP).
"The chief minister and his deputy/deputies are the face of the government. That is why Congress is seeking the post," he said.
SC dismisses plea against Shiv Sena, NCP, Cong. alliance, says can't curtail right of a party
The Supreme Court Friday dismissed a plea challenging the post-poll alliance of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress to form government in Maharashtra saying in democracy it cannot curtail the rights of a political party to align with other parties.
A bench of Justices N V Ramana, Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna observed, referring to earlier verdicts, that constitutional morality is different from political morality.
"In democracy, we can't curtail the rights of political parties to align with other parties," the bench said.
At the outset, the bench asked advocate Barun Kumar Sinha, appearing for one Pramod Pandit Joshi of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, why would court interfere in pre-poll and post-poll alliances and how this issue was amenable to judicial review?
Sinha replied that BJP-Shiv Sena had a pre-poll alliance and they made the promises due to which voters voted for them.
"Both BJP-Shiv Sena were part of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and they have a common minimum programme due to which the people of Maharashtra voted for them," he said.
The top court told the counsel, "Don't expect the court to go into arena of post-poll alliances in democracy and where it has no jurisdiction".
The bench said it is the matter where public has to decide and not the courts.
"If your arguments are accepted then there will be no democracy. There was a pre-poll alliance which has fallen apart. After this post-poll alliance was formed," it said.
Courts cannot issue directions to a party to implement its manifesto if it does not fulfil it on coming to power, the top court said.
Joshi in his plea sought declaration of the post poll alliance among the three parties in Maharashtra as "fraud" on the electorate for gaining power.
The PIL had sought a direction to the Centre and the state asking them to refrain from appointing a chief minister from the emerging post poll alliance of Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress.
"The act of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress are unethical and contrary to the constitutional scheme for staking claim to form government without legitimate alliance of political parties, which is far from the concept of the popular government," the plea said.
It said the post poll coalition between two or more political parties was impermissible under the Constitution as it lacked peoples' mandate.
The political parties, which have been voted out of power, cannot stake claim to form government by entering into such a coalition, it said.
