Maharashtra political crisis: ‘CM Shinde faction will be finished…,’ says Sanjay Raut ahead of SC verdict
2 min read . Updated: 11 May 2023, 12:20 PM IST
PremiumOn Wednesday, Raut said the judgement would decide whether democracy is alive or not in the country.
Ahead of the Supreme Court's verdict on Maharashtra political crisis, Sanjay Raut of Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) party stated that if 16 MLAs of Eknath Shinde's group are disqualified, "the group of traitors will be finished" ahead of the Maharashtra political crisis verdict.
"If the 16 MLAs including CM Shinde are disqualified today, then this group of traitors will be finished," Raut told ANI.
The Supreme Court's five-judge Constitution bench, led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and comprising Justices MR Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli, and PS Narasimha, is set to deliver a verdict on a batch of cross-petitions filed by Uddhav Thackeray and Chief Minister M Eknath Shinde factions on the Maharashtra political crisis.
Last year, the crisis resulted in a split in the Shiv Sena party and a change of guard in the state, with Shinde aligning with the BJP to form the government.
The judgement would also have broader implications as the court is likely to decide the role of the Speaker and the Governor in case of defections and intra-party crisis.
On Wednesday, Raut said the judgement would decide whether "democracy is alive or not" in the country.
"The judgement by the Supreme Court will be very important for the state of Maharashtra and the country. We are not predicting what Supreme Court will say tomorrow but for democracy tomorrow is important. We will also get to see if there is pressure on the judiciary or not," he said.
"Today, Pakistan is burning because there is no democracy alive there. The SC decision will tell us if democracy is alive in our country or not," he added.
Raut also slammed Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar over his remarks "only the Speaker has the power to decide on MLA's disqualification and not the court".
(With inputs from agencies)