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Congress Seeks Criminal Case Against Maharashtra Speaker Over BMC Nomination Allegations

Three of Rahul Narwekar’s relatives are BJP nominees in the Colaba wards at the center of the dispute.

Overview

  • MPCC president Harshvardhan Sapkal asked State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare to file a criminal case against Speaker Rahul Narwekar for an alleged Model Code of Conduct breach.
  • Sapkal alleged Narwekar was at the Colaba returning officer’s office around 5 pm, used police to intimidate rivals, and pressed officials to delay or reject Opposition nominations.
  • Congress claimed misuse of government machinery, saying about 70 staff from the Speaker’s office campaigned for his relatives, and sought disciplinary action and cases against those employees.
  • The State Election Commission requested a report from civic chief Bhushan Gagrani after complaints that Colaba returning officers refused nominations, while AAP said its Ward 227 candidate was blocked despite being inside before the deadline.
  • Narwekar called the accusations baseless and denied wrongdoing, as Shiv Sena (UBT) alleged missing CCTV footage from Dec. 30 and a circulating video purported to show him discussing withdrawal of a politician’s police protection.