A week after Ajit Pawar engineered a split in the NCP and joined the Eknath Shinde-BJP administration in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray stated on Sunday that he is tracking how the BJP deals with its new "riff-raffs," news agency PTI reported. Concerning the petitions seeking the disqualification of 16 Shiv Sena MLAs, including Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Thackeray stated that the state Assembly Speaker would have to make a judgement within a certain time limit.
"If the Speaker to bypass it, the Supreme Court's doors are always open for us,” he informed press in Nagpur after starting a two-day tour of the Vidarbha region in Maharashtra.
When questioned about his views on the ruling BJP, Thackeray said: “I do not think the BJP deserves anything to be said about it. It has no right to preach us. I am just waiting to see how the BJP handles the new riff-raffs.”
The Maha Vikas Aghadi administration led by Uddhav Thackeray fell in June last year after a mutiny spearheaded by Eknath Shinde against the Shiv Sena leadership. Shinde was later elected CM with the help of the BJP.
On July 2, this year, Ajit Pawar, the NCP's deputy chief minister, spearheaded a split in his party and joined the Shinde administration. Eight additional NCP legislators were also sworn in as state cabinet ministers.
Notably, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar announced on Saturday that notices were issued to 40 MLAs from Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and 14 from the Uddhav Thackeray faction, including his son Aaditya Thackeray, seeking responses on disqualification petitions filed against them.
He stated that these politicians have been given seven days to respond.
On Friday, Narwekar stated that he had received a copy of the Shiv Sena constitution from the Election Commission of India and that hearings on the disqualification petitions filed against 16 Shiv Sena MLAs, including CM Shinde, will begin soon.
In response to the petitions seeking the disqualification of the 16 Shiv Sena MLAs, Thackeray stated that the Supreme Court has already provided the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker with a framework.
"The Speaker will have to take a decision on the disqualification issue within the given framework. If he tries to bypass it, the Supreme Court's doors are always open for us,” the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader was quoted by PTI in its report.