Ruling Shiv Sena in Maharashtra hit back at rival camp leader Uddhav Thackeray for seeking Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s resignation post the Supreme Court ruling on the 2022 political crisis, and said if any morality is left in him, the MLAs loyal to him should quit and face fresh polls.
Shinde-led party fielded a battery of leaders, including the CM’s son, at a news conference here, held a day after the Supreme Court verdict, and attacked the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).
Shiv Sena asked wasn’t breaking the pre-poll alliance under which Thackeray sought votes along with the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), and then went with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress in 2019, a betrayal of the people of the state.
Shrikant Shinde, the Lok Sabha MP from Kalyan near Mumbai and son of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, alleged Thackeray was trying to mislead people so that those left with his faction do not desert and join the ruling Shiv Sena.
Shrikant Shinde asserted the 11-month-old Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra is legitimate and formed as per constitutional norms and the Supreme Court has given its stamp on it.
If you (Thackeray) talk about morality, then two parties (BJP and undivided Shiv Sena) jointly secured votes (as an alliance in 2019). So 14 MLAs (of the Shiv Sena-UBT) should resign on moral grounds and face people and see whether voters elect them or not, Shrikant Shinde said.
The industries minister said an attempt is being made by Thackeray to set a narrative that the Supreme Court has ruled in their favour. Shrikant Shinde pointed out that on the contrary, the Supreme Court has rejected six of the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s prayers and accepted only two.