Ahead of the SC verdict, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said on Wednesday that the decision will spell out if the country is a democracy or not, whether the legislative assembly and Parliament are functioning according to the Constitution or not, and whether the SC and judiciary is independent or under someone's pressure.
Raut also took a dig at assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar over his comment that only the speaker can decide on disqualification of MLAs. Raut demanded Narwekar resign and allow the then deputy speaker (Narhari Zirwal) to decide. Raut said notices for disqualification of MLAs were issued by Zirwal, so disqualification must be decided by him. He also asked if union law minister Kiren Rijiju had conveyed the SC decision on disqualification of MLAs to Narwekar in the closed-door meeting they had last week, adding this meeting had created doubt in people's minds.
Raut said, "The MLAs will be disqualified, the government will come, government will go, these things happen in politics. But the future of this country will be decided on Thursday. In Pakistan you see the Constitution burning because it did not work according to the Constitution. Actions are being taken against opponents with vengeance. Governments are overthrown, governments are brought in. The judiciary sold out. This picture should not exist in this country. For this, the verdict of the SC is very important."