Uddhav Thackeray faction urges SC to set aside Maharashtra governor order for floor test
The Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by the former chief minister was toppled after it was asked to prove majority in a no-confidence motion.
The Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena on Thursday urged the Supreme Court to set aside the Maharashtra governor’s June order directing the Maha Vikas Aghadi government to take a floor test, reported PTI.
Senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, representing the Thackeray faction, told Chief Justice DY Chandrachud-led Constitution bench that democracy would be in danger if the order is not overturned.
Sibal made the statement a day after the Supreme Court questioned the governor’s decision to call a trust vote. The court had said that discontent in a party does not justify governor ordering a trust vote.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi government, comprising the Shiv Sena, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party, was toppled after Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, who was the governor at the time, had asked Thackeray to take a trust vote on June 28. Thackeray had resigned a day later after the Supreme Court refused to stay the vote of no confidence.
The vote came after Eknath Shinde rebelled against Thackeray and said he had the support of 39 of the 55 Shiv Sena MLAs and 10 Independent legislators. This reduced the Thackeray-led faction of the party to a minority in the Assembly.
On June 30, Eknath Shinde was sworn in as the Maharashtra chief minister with Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy.
At Thursday’s hearing, Sibal said that such action by the governor can topple an elected government and sought the court’s intervention.
“I am absolutely certain that without the intervention of this court, our democracy will be in danger because no elected government will be allowed to survive,” he said. “It is with this hope I make this plea to this court to allow this petition and set aside the order of the governor.”
Sibal argued that if the Shiv Sena MLAs had lost their faith in the government, they could have voted against it in the House when a money Bill was moved, reported PTI.
“The governor based his decision on the claim made by the legislative majority of Shiv Sena,” the senior lawyer said. “On what constitutional basis can the governor recognise a faction, whether minority or majority, to hold a floor test?”
The court has reserved its verdict on the matter that pertains to questions related to issues of defection, merger and disqualification arising out of the Maharashtra political crisis in June.
