Uddhav Thackeray on Supreme Court verdict in Sena row case: 'Shinde, Fadnavis should resign on moral grounds'

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray sought the resignation of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis on “moral grounds” on Thursday.

“Those who betrayed me were the ones subjecting me to a trust vote. How could I have allowed this?” he said.

UT: They betrayed my party and the legacy of my father

The former CM was speaking at a press conference at his residence Matoshree immediately following the Supreme Court verdict in the disqualification case of Shiv Sena MLAs.

“They [Shinde faction MLAs] betrayed my party and the legacy of my father. My resignation as CM may have been wrong legally, but I did it on moral grounds,” Thackeray said. “How was I supposed to run a government with backstabbers?

“If the current Maharashtra CM and deputy CM have any ethics, then they should resign after the SC ruling and face elections,” he said.

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 the Shinde faction.

“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 had held illegal Speaker Rahul Narvekar’s decision to appoint Bharat Gogawale (of the Shinde faction) as the Shiv Sena whip,Thackeray said. The speaker should restore the whip to Sena (UBT)’s Sunil Prabhu while deciding on the disqualification of the 16 rebel MLAs, he said. 

Thackeray said that a delegation from his party will meet Narvekar and request him to decide on the disqualification petitions at the earliest.

Thackeray said the verdict has shown how the office of the governor can be misused, adding that it is time to do away with such institutions.