The Thackeray faction said that in Gujarat and Assam, there was no Shiv Sena cadre and only BJP cadre was “providing full logistical support to the MLAs”.
New Delhi: The Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is “floating a fake narrative to justify their anti-party stand”, the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction told the Supreme Court on Wednesday ahead of a hearing to decide who gets to control the party.
The response to the court read, “They created a narrative that voters are angry about the alliance of Shiv Sena with NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) and Congress. The reality is that these MLAs remained ministers in the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance for two and a half years, but they never objected to it. All events that followed, including the floor test and the appointment of Shinde as new Chief Minister, are fruit of a poisonous tree, the seeds of which were unashamedly sown in the Supreme Court by the delinquent MLAs.”
Team Thackeray’s response added, “The rebel MLAs approached the Election Commission with claims of ‘real Sena’ in order to cover up their anti-party activities. It is implausible as to why the rebel MLAs had to leave Maharashtra and go to BJP-ruled Gujarat and subsequently sit on BJP’s lap in Assam if they had the backing of their party cadre.”
The Thackeray faction said that in Gujarat and Assam, there was no Shiv Sena cadre and only BJP cadre was “providing full logistical support to the MLAs”. While BJP calls Shiv Sena an old ally, the saffron party never gave equal status to Shiv Sena, the Thackeray faction further alleged.
“It was in the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition government that the leader of Shiv Sena got the Chief Minister’s post. From the day the government came to power, these MLAs always took advantage of it. Never before did they raise the issue of displeasure among voters and workers,” said Thackeray faction.
Uddhav Thackeray’s team requested the Supreme Court to stop the Election Commission from deciding who has control of the party till a decision is taken on disqualifying the MLAs who revolted against Thackeray.
