Whatever the results, but anyone who quits his responsibilities has no respect in any place on earth. Uddhav will now learn this lesson a hard way, as his status of a political nobody has been officially stamped by the Supreme Court.
Now, let’s find out why Uddhav Thackeray bit dust when it came to his position as CM, and why even Supreme Court couldn’t repair the damage!
Eknath Shinde to stay!
After pondering over various petitions of Uddhav Thackeray and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde faction in Maharashtra, the Supreme Court has referred the matter to a larger bench. A five-judge constitutional bench headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice DY Chandrachud referred the matter to a seven-judge bench. Justice MR Shah, Justice Krishna Murari, Justice Hima Kohli and Justice PS Narasimha were included in this bench.
The decision on the qualification of 16 rebel MLAs, including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has been postponed after the matter was referred to a larger bench. The larger bench of the Supreme Court will give its verdict in the matter of disqualification of these MLAs.
So, what does that mean? One, Uddhav destroyed his own chance by resigning, and two, Eknath Shinde’s government will continue to administer the state.
How so? According to the bench presiding over the issue, the Supreme Court cannot order the reinstatement of the Uddhav government, as it had resigned without facing the floor test. The Supreme Court said that if Uddhav Thackeray had not resigned, the status quo could have been restored. Funnily, the lawyers of Uddhav Thackeray had actually demanded the Supreme Court to restore the old government in the state. Along with this, the Supreme Court also said that floor test cannot be used to solve the internal dispute of the party.
Also read: Here’s our exit poll based on some real ground intelligence
The floor test was wrong, but
For those unaware, Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Devdutt Kamat and advocate Amit Anand Tiwari appeared on behalf of Uddhav Thackeray. On the other hand, senior advocates Neeraj Kishan Kaul, Harish Salve, Mahesh Jethmalani and Abhikalp Pratap Singh appeared on behalf of the Eknath Shinde group. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared on behalf of the Governor’s office in the hearing of the matter which commenced on 17 February 2023.
During the hearing, the apex court maintained that the Governor’s decision for floor test was wrong and the Speaker was also wrong in appointing the whip of the Eknath Shinde group. The Governor should not have trusted the letter of the rebelling faction. The letter did not indicate that Uddhav Thackeray had lost support. But since Uddhav Thackeray submitted his resignation before the floor test, and the then Speaker also did not take any concrete step on the no-confidence motion, he cannot order the reinstatement of the Uddhav government. Long story, CJI Chandrachud simply broadcasted the message, “This [restoration] is beyond my capacity, I’m out!”
Actually, 16 MLAs of the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray’s government had rebelled. During that time, Eknath Shinde issued a letter saying that he has the support of 35 MLAs. After this, the Deputy Speaker gave a notice to cancel the membership of all the 16 rebel MLAs, but the rebels approached the Supreme Court and got relief from there.
After this, on 28 June 2022, the Governor asked Uddhav Thackeray to prove his majority. The Uddhav Thackeray faction moved the Supreme Court against it, but the Supreme Court refused to stay the floor test. After this Uddhav Thackeray resigned from his post. Eknath Shinde became the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra on 30 June with the support of the BJP.
Also read: Uddhav’s faction severs last ties to Balasaheb Thackeray
What next?
Whatever happens next, but one thing has become crystal clear: Uddhav will not be able to return to power again, even if he wants to. Such cases were also seen in Jharkhand and Uttarakhand, but there the then administrators exercised restraint and waited till the final result. As of now, even if CJI Chandrachud wanted to, he could not have given the decision in favor of Uddhav Thackeray, because he had already submitted his resignation. It’s like demanding a batsman to return even after he has returned to the pavilion on his own accord.
Only time can tell the decision on the qualification of 16 members including Eknath Shinde, but there is no doubt the fact that Uddhav has written his own political epitaph, and even if he wants to return, it is just too late!
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