Relief for Thackeray as Maha Speaker rejects plea by Shinde group to disqualify SS-UBT MLAs

Mumbai: In a relief of sorts for former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Wednesday dismissed the Shiv Sena’s plea to disqualify the 13 MLAs of the Shiv Sena-UBT faction.

Filed by Shiv Sena Chief Whip Bharat Gogawale, the Speaker found the plea as having major inconsistencies and discrepancies and rejected his grounds to disqualify all the MLAs of the Thackeray faction.

With this and the other aspects of the Speakers’ much-anticipated verdict, former Chief Minister and SS-UBT President Uddhav Thackeray has lost the original Shiv Sena founded by his father, the late Balasaheb Thackeray, to CM Eknath Shinde.

However, in what is viewed as a consolation, his legislative flock of 13 MLAs -- among them his son and ex-Minister Aditya Thackeray -- have not been disqualified and will continue till the remainder of their terms, before the Assembly elections due this year.

The Speaker’s ruling was strongly flayed by SS-UBT leaders including Aditya Thackeray, Sanjay Raut, and other leaders, who described it as "on expected lines" as they had been predicting in the recent past.

Aditya Thackeray termed the ruling as a "blatant murder of the Constitution and democracy", and said that the party would challenge it in the Supreme Court.

Raut said that "this is a deep conspiracy to finish off the Shiv Sena founded by the late Balasaheb Thackeray", the Shiv Sena cannot be destroyed by the "Gujarati lobby", and vowed that the SS-UBT would continue the legal battle.

Calling it as a "black day" for the country and the Marathis, Raut also questioned the credentials of the Speaker, the CM, and the Chief Whip, wondering how after 40 MLAs defected the entire party could be handed over to the rival faction.