Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray sought the resignation of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis on moral grounds following the Supreme Court ruling on the 2022 political crisis in the state on Thursday, a demand swiftly rejected by top ruling coalition leaders, as rival camps claimed vindication of their positions after the much-awaited verdict.
The judgment reinstates trust in democracy, said Thackeray, who was the chief minister of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, comprising his group, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress, and who resigned in June 2022 after a rebellion in the undivided Shiv Sena, triggering a political crisis in the state.
On the other hand, Shinde said he staked claim to form the government within the legal and constitutional framework and it has now got the stamp of the Supreme Court.
Addressing a news conference in Mumbai, Thackeray lambasted the role of the then-governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari who had called upon him to face a trust vote following the rebellion by a section of Shiv Sena MLAs.
Thackeray quit without facing a trust vote in the assembly, paving the way for Shinde to take over as CM on June 29, 2022, with support from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Fadnavis as his deputy.
”The Supreme Court's judgment has exposed the dirty politics carried out for power. The most important part is that the role of governor has been criticised,” the former CM said.
The SC on Thursday held it cannot restore the then-MVA government led by Thackeray as he resigned without facing a floor test, meaning Shinde will continue as the chief minister of Maharashtra.
In a unanimous verdict on a batch of pleas related to the political crisis, a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud held that the speaker's decision to appoint Bharat Gogawale of the Shinde faction as the whip of Shiv Sena was illegal.
The apex court also pulled up Koshyari and said he did not have reasons based on objective material before him to reach the conclusion that then chief minister Thackeray had lost the confidence of the house.
”If the current Maharashtra CM (Shinde) and deputy CM (Fadnavis) have any ethics, then they should resign after the SC ruling and face elections,” Thackeray said.
Responding to a question on whether he had erred by resigning, Thackeray said, ”I could be wrong in tendering the resignation, but if you look at the morality, those who got everything from my party -- why should I show my trust or distrust to them? They don't have the right to question me. Those who betrayed me bring a trust a vote against me -- how will that happen?”
”They (Shinde faction MLAs) betrayed my party and the legacy of my father. My resignation as the CM then may have been legally wrong, but I did it on moral grounds,” he said.
”How was I supposed to run a government with backstabbers," he said, lashing out at the Shinde-led Sena.
After the SC verdict, a relieved Shinde asserted his 11-month-old government was legal and formed within constitutional framework.
Speaking jointly to reporters after the top court judgment, the CM and his deputy Fadnavis welcomed the ruling.
Shinde said, ”The government we formed was within the legal and constitutional framework. The Supreme Court has now put its stamp on it. Earlier, people used to derive pseudo-pleasure by calling our government an unconstitutional alliance.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders have often called the Shinde government "unconstitutional".
Now, all those critics and their criticism have become irrelevant, Shinde said.
Fadnavis took a dig at Thackeray saying the latter should not talk about morality. ”Thackeray said he did not face the floor test on moral grounds. I want to know where was his morality when he contested state assembly elections in 2019 with us but joined hands with the Opposition to form the government,” the BJP leader said.
”Thackeray gave the resignation out of shame,” Fadnavis claimed.
Shinde said, ”The former chief minister knew he was in the minority. Now he is talking about his whip will be applicable in the party, but does he have enough MLAs?”
NCP president Sharad Pawar said the BJP and morality are contradictory to each other and asserted the SC verdict will help the MVA convince people about the BJP's ”misuse” of authority.
The veteran politician said, ”The BJP's strategy is to break smaller parties and form the government if they cannot win on their own. This is not good for democracy.”
Pawar declined to say more on the SC observation that Thackeray had resigned on his own. ”Let bygones be bygones. From here, Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP will work together and face the elections.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said if the top court has observed that Sunil Prabhu of the Thackeray faction of the Sena remains the official whip, then as per its observation, 16 rebel MLAs, including Chief Minister Shinde, stand disqualified from the assembly.
He said assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar cannot follow the official whip.
Raut also asserted that since the process of formation of the government was illegal, the Shinde government is "illegal".
Reacting to the ruling, Narwekar asserted the SC has upheld his stand on the disqualification of MLAs in its verdict on the political crisis.
Narwekar, currently in London, told a regional news channel, ”The Supreme Court in its order stated that it would be the speaker's prerogative to take a call on the disqualification plea submitted against the 16 MLAs, including Chief Minister Shinde. I have been consistently saying that it would be the speaker of the assembly who will decide (on this matter).”
Asked about the apex court terming illegal Bharat Gogawale's appointment as chief whip by Shinde, Narwekar said, ”I accept the Supreme Court's decision and I will comment on it after discussing the issue with my lawyers. The state government is safe and I am happy for it.”
The Shinde government may have survived after the Supreme Court verdict but it has lost the moral right to continue in office, NCP leader and former minister Jayant Patil said in Sangli.
