Mumbai: Uddhav Thackeray arrives at Sena Bhawan to hold meeting with party leaders

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday arrived at Sena Bhawan in Mumbai to hold a meeting with party leaders.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday arrived at Sena Bhawan in Mumbai to hold a meeting with party leaders. According to sources, the meeting will be attended by several other office bearers of the party.

Thackeray will hold discussions ranging from Supreme Court's decision to other ground-related issues. The Supreme Court, last week, held that former Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari was "not justified" to call for a floor test based on the request of the Eknath Shinde faction since he did not have enough objective material before him to conclude that the then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had lost the confidence of the House.

A five-judge Constitution bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices MR Shah, Justice Krishna Murari, Justice Hima Kohli, and PS Narasimha said it could not disqualify the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government and reinstate Uddhav Thackeray as Chief Minster because the latter had chosen to resign instead of facing a test of strength in the Assembly. The court said the political imbroglio in Maharashtra arose as a result of party differences within the Shiv Sena.

"However, the floor test cannot be used as a medium to resolve internal party disputes or intra-party disputes. Dissent and disagreement within a political party must be resolved in accordance with the remedies prescribed under the party constitution, or through any other methods that the party chooses to opt for," the bench held. "There is a marked difference between a party not supporting a government, and individuals within a party expressing their discontent with their party leadership and functioning."

It further said that the Governor is the "titular head of the State government" and he is a constitutional functionary who derives his authority from the Constitution. "This being the case, the Governor must be cognisant of the constitutional bounds of the power vested in him. He cannot exercise a power that is not conferred on him by the Constitution or a law made under it," the top court said.

The apex court's judgement came on a batch of petitions filed by rival groups of the Shiv Sena in relation to the Maharashtra political crisis. The apex court further said that the Speaker must decide on disqualification petitions within a reasonable time.

In August last year, the top court's three-judge bench had referred to a five-judge Constitution bench the issues involved in the petition filed by rival groups of Shiv Sena in relation to the Maharashtra political crisis. On June 29, 2022, the top court gave a go-ahead to the floor test in the Maharashtra Assembly on June 30. It had refused to stay the Maharashtra Governor's direction to the then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to prove his majority support on the floor of the House on June 30.

After the apex court's order, Uddhav Thackeray announced his resignation as the Chief Minister and Eknath Shinde was later sworn in as the Chief Minister. (ANI)

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