Jairam Ramesh, a prominent member of the Congress party, on Thursday criticized the Maharashtra government under Eknath Shinde's leadership following the Supreme Court's verdict declaring the actions of the governor, speaker, and chief whip as illegal during the recent political turmoil in the state. Ramesh branded the Maharashtra government as “triply illegal” by attributing the label of "double engine sarkar" to them.
Taking to Twitter, Ramesh stated: “Today in relation to the overthrow of Uddhav Thackeray & the MVA Govt in Maharashtra the Supreme Court held: 1. Governor's actions were illegal. 2. Speaker's actions were illegal. 3. Chief Whip's actions were illegal."
He cited statements made by lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi who represented Uddhav Thackeray in the Supreme Court during the Maharashtra political crisis, and stated: “In the words of my senior colleague, Dr. Abhishek Singhvi, what moral authority is left for the Shinde-Fadnavis regime to cling to power?”
The Maharashtra government, led by Eknath Shinde, was found to be ineligible for disqualification by a Constitution bench consisting of five judges headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud. The plea to reinstate Uddhav Thackeray as the chief minister was dismissed as he had opted to resign.
Although the decision was perceived as a victory for the Shinde takeover, the Supreme Court acknowledged that the former governor, BS Koshyari, made a mistake by organizing a vote of confidence that led to the downfall of the government led by Uddhav Thackeray. It was noted that Devendra Fadnavis and the independent MLAs did not propose a vote of no confidence, and the governor's discretionary actions were not in line with legal regulations.