Supreme Court agrees to hear Uddhav Thackeray’s request to halt Eknath Shinde’s camp.
Tomorrow at 3.30 p.m., the Supreme Court will hear Uddhav Thackeray’s petition to prevent Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde from seizing control of Shiv Sena properties and money.
Leading attorney Kapil Sibal appeared for Thackeray and requested a stay of last week’s Election Commission judgement that gave the Shinde faction the party’s original name and emblem. The Shinde camp contended that the dispute should not be heard in the first instance by the supreme court.
After Shinde and 39 other members departed the party led by Thackeray, who led a Sena-Congress-NCP coalition government, and formed a new administration with BJP support, the two factions have been arguing over the Shiv Sena’s name and symbol for almost eight months.
Monday, Thackeray told the Supreme Court that the EC had failed in its role as an impartial arbitrator and that its ruling dealt with problems related to petitions pending before it.
“I’ve had everything taken from me. Our party’s name and symbol have been stolen, but the name Thackeray cannot be taken “Thackeray stated in Mumbai’s Shiv Sena Bhavan.
“What the BJP did to us is something they can do to anyone. If this continues, there would be no democracy or elections in the country after 2024 “He charged the BJP with destroying institutions.
When questioned about the Shinde faction acquiring several Sena properties, he stated: “I dare them to stop using my father’s name and image. Allow him to post a picture of his father and then solicit votes.”
Thackeray noted that the EC had previously recognised his section as a separate party “… with a different name Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)” and had given it a torch as a symbol. This suggests that EC has already acknowledged our independent existence, he said.
