Sanjay Raut Criticizes Supreme Court Over 'Murder of Democracy' Remark, Cites Maharashtra Verdict

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut criticized the Supreme Court on Tuesday for its statement on the "murder of democracy" during the Chandigarh mayoral elections. Raut, referring to the Eknath Shinde-led revolt of Shiv Sena MLAs that led to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray government, asserted that the "murder of democracy" occurred in Maharashtra first, but the court did not take any action.

Raut told ANI, "What happens by taking cognizance? Cognizance was taken in Maharashtra too. The murder of democracy first happened in Maharashtra. What did the Supreme Court do?" He claimed that Eknath Shinde had formed an unconstitutional government, and despite the Supreme Court's involvement, the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker made a wrong decision, establishing an unconstitutional government.

Eknath Shinde's rebellion in 2022 resulted in him joining hands with the BJP and forming a government in Maharashtra, claiming that Uddhav Thackeray was not following the Hindutva path set by his father and Shiv Sena founder, Bal Thackeray. Recently, Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar ruled that Shinde's Shiv Sena is the real party.

Supreme court on Chandigarh mayrol elections

Regarding the Chandigarh mayoral elections, the Supreme Court on Monday criticized the presiding officer, Anil Masih, for defacing ballot papers before declaring them invalid. The bench called Masih's actions a mockery of democracy, stating, "This is the murder of democracy. We are appalled. We will not allow democracy to be murdered this way." BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar defeated AAP-Congress's joint candidate Kuldeep Dhalor by a 16-12 score in the Chandigarh results. The alliance had 20 members in the council, but Masih declared eight votes invalid. The AAP councillor challenged a Punjab and Haryana High Court order, seeking fresh mayoral polls in Chandigarh, and later moved the Supreme Court.