Maharashtra political row: Sparring over moral grounds

As Thackeray asks his successor and his deputy Fadnavis to quit on moral grounds, Shinde hits back saying the former had quit last year due to fear of shame

The Supreme Court’s conclusions gave former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray a much-needed plank in the face of a loss to set a narrative that he had resigned on moral grounds. As he asked his successor to also vacate his post on moral grounds like he did, Eknath Shinde hit back, accusing the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief of double standards. “Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should resign on moral grounds like I did,” Thackeray said after the SC delivered the verdict on Thursday.

'You quit out of fear’

Shinde, while addressing a press conference with his deputy Fadnavis, said, “You knew that you had lost support. You quit because of the fear of shame that would follow your defeat in the House. You had no option. Where was your morality when you insulted the mandate and gave up Balasaheb's [Thackeray] ideology?” Fadnavis added, “Thackeray quit the ideology for power [in forming the Maha Vikas Aghadi]. Shinde quit power for ideology [in joining the BJP].”

The deputy CM argued that the apex court's observation about the possibility of restoring Thackeray's government should be interpreted correctly. “The court said it cannot do it because Thackeray did not face a floor test. A plea to this effect was raised by the Thackeray faction,” he added.

Also read: 16 rebel MLAs including Shinde stand disqualified as per SC observation: Raut

Shinde said some people in the Thackeray group and elsewhere have been rendered obsolete due to the verdict. “I had been saying that the majority matters in democracy. We made a government by fulfilling all legalities. And the Supreme Court has endorsed it today,” the CM added.

He was confident of a favourable decision in the MLAs’ disqualification matter as well, “because we are now a political as well as a legislative party. The election commission has decided it already,” he said, in response to Thackeray's statement that no group could claim the party and its name, Shiv Sena.

'I am morally correct'

Accompanied by the Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashvi Yadav, Thackeray said the verdict would prove to be a harbinger of a good future for India, which was currently under threat. "My fight and our fight have begun today," he added. The leaders from Bihar were in the city to meet Thackeray and other Opposition leaders over their nationwide mission to bring like-minded parties together against the BJP. Nitish also welcomed the verdict. "Justice has been done today," he said.

Thackeray said he could be legally wrong, but he was morally right in resigning as the CM. He said his fight was for the people, not for power. “The traitors bringing a no-trust against me were just unacceptable to me,” he said, adding that he might have inherited a tendency to take such decisions. He asked Shinde to resign, stating that the Supreme Court verdict has exposed the power-hungry people and the roles of Shinde, his allies and the governor.

State Congress chief Nana Patole said it has been proven again that the BJP is dangerous for democracy. “The Supreme Court has declared the Shinde-BJP government unconstitutional and illegal. The SC has criticised every action of the governor in bringing down the MVA government. The CM, the deputy CM and the Assembly speaker should resign on moral grounds,” he demanded.

‘Shouldn’t have resigned’

Thackeray was also asked whether the decision to quit was taken against the advice of the Congress and the NCP leadership. Former CM and Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan said on Thursday that the first thing he felt after Thackeray resigned was that his decision was inappropriate.

NCP boss Sharad Pawar had said earlier that “Uddhav’s resignation was a wrong move”, and reiterated it on Thursday. “I had said so, and I also wrote about it in my latest book. Some friends were upset because of it, but I did not want to hurt them. It’s a fact, and the court has also clarified it,” he said, promising to forget the past and work harder for the MVA. “In fact, the judgment has made our job of telling the people about the BJP much easier,” said the veteran leader, after meeting Kumar and Yadav.

‘Review of guv system’

Thackeray said, “There is a need to review a system called the governors for its continuation. It is exploited. We will take this up with the Supreme Court,” he said.

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