Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) leader, said on Thursday that if 16 MLAs of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde are disqualified, "then the group of traitors will be finished." The remark came during the ongoing Supreme Court's decision on last year's political crisis in Maharashtra when the now CM joined hands with BJP to come to power.
"If the 16 MLAs including CM Shinde are disqualified today, then this group of traitors will be finished," Raut told ANI. "The current govt is illegal and formed against the Constitution," he added while speaking to the news agency while noting the SC decision.
Details into SC verdict
The apex court held that the Speaker's decision to appoint Bharat Gogawale (Eknath Shinde) as the whip of the Shiv Sena party was illegal. The top court said that the Speaker should recognize only the whip appointed by the political party.
The verdict was delivered by a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and comprised of Justices MR Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha.
The judgement would reportedly also have broader implications as the court is likely to decide the role of the Speaker and the Governor in case of defections and intra-party crisis. The crisis prompted a change of guard in the state last year with Shinde joining hands with BJP to form the government.
Raut's word about the crucial judgement
On Wednesday, Raut said the judgement would decide whether "democracy is alive or not" in the country.
"The judgement by the Supreme Court will be very important for the state of Maharashtra and the country. We are not predicting what Supreme Court will say tomorrow but for democracy tomorrow is important. We will also get to see if there is pressure on the judiciary or not," he said.
"Today, Pakistan is burning because there is no democracy alive there. The SC decision will tell us if democracy is alive in our country or not," he added.
Raut also slammed Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar over his remarks "only the Speaker has the power to decide on MLA's disqualification and not the court".
(With agency inputs)
