Disqualification pleas verdict: Speaker's order is murder of democracy, says Uddhav Thackeray

Uddhav Thackeray. Pic/ Shadab Khan

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said Maharashtra assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar's disqualification pleas verdict holding that the faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was the real Shiv Sena was a murder of democracy, and his party will move the Supreme Court against it, reported the PTI.

Speaking at a press conference, Uddhav Thackeray said that the apex court had given clear guidelines, but those were ignored by the Speaker while giving his ruling on disqualification petitions filed by the rival Sena factions, according to the PTI.

IN PHOTOS: Uddhav Thackeray reacts after Maharashtra Assembly Speaker says `Shinde faction is real Shiv Sena`

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The original case was about disqualification under the anti-defection law, but not one lawmaker from either side was disqualified, he said.

"The foundation on which the order stands is wrong. This is a murder of democracy and an insult to the Supreme Court," he said, adding that neither the apex court nor the people will accept this decision, as per the PTI.

His party will approach the SC against the ruling, and will also examine if a contempt petition can be filed against the Speaker, Uddhav Thackeray said.

He would request the apex court to give its decision on the case before the elections, he added.

The court had accepted the authority of the whip of the Uddhav Thackeray faction (Sunil Prabhu) and its group leader (Ajay Chowdhary), he said.

Rahul Narwekar, in his ruling, said Prabhu ceased to be the authorised whip when the split in the party became apparent on June 21, 2022.

"Shiv Sena will never be finished and the people of Maharashtra will not accept the Shiv Sena of these traitors," Uddhav Thackeray, who stepped down as chief minister after Shinde's rebellion in June 2022, said, the news agency reported on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said numbers are important in democracy, and the Shiv Sena led by him has the numbers as against the rival faction led by Uddhav Thackeray, the PTI reported.

Reacting to the Maharashtra assembly Speaker's ruling which said his faction was the real Shiv Sena, Shinde also said that the party chief's individual opinion cannot be the opinion of the entire party.

Even the Election Commission of India allotted the name and symbol of the Shiv Sena to his party, he noted.

Reading out his ruling on disqualification petitions filed by CM Eknath Shinde-led Sena and the rival group led by Thackeray against each other's MLAs, Speaker Rahul Narwekar held that when the split in the party became evident, it was the Shinde-led group that was the real Sena.

(with PTI inputs)