Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday tendered his resignation as the chief minister of Maharashtra soon after the Supreme Court ruled that he must prove a majority in the floor test following a major political upheaval with the Shiv Sena, led by long-time aide Eknath Shinde.
Reacting to the development, the Congress party, an ally of the Shiv Sena in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government along with the Nationalist Congress Party, called it a “sad day” for democracy.
Taking to Twitter, Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala listed a three-point conclusion to the whole fracas. “Right of voters to choose a government has been trampled by political corruption; Tenth Schedule of Constitution- Anti Defection Law- is a dead letter now – observed in violation; Courts have failed to check the treachery committed on Democracy,” he said.
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Highlighting other states such as Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh that saw a switch of government to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s favour, he added, “Let’s reclaim our country”.
In a late-night development on Wednesday, Thackeray resigned as the CM after the SC ordered a floor test to settle issues in the House after Shinde went off radar with a major chunk of Shiv Sena MLAs, unhappy with the MVA arrangement.
Taking a jibe at Thackeray, Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Amit Malviya said, “Balasaheb Thackeray was a man who could control governments, despite not being in power. On the other hand, his son couldn’t even control his party, despite being in power. What a fall from grace!”
On Sharad Pawar, Malviya said that his nephew “revolted under his nose” and diminished his stature as a leader.
Thackeray’s party colleagues Sanjay Raut and Priyanka Chaturvedi commended his leadership in the 2.5 years that he has held the post.
While the former said that the state has lost a “sensitive” and “decent” CM, the latter said Thackeray carried Maharashtra “through the pandemic, ensured the fire of communal hate didn’t singe our state, kept the interest of state & its people above all without prejudice”.