The day before, Thackeray had petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the Speaker's ruling designating Eknath Shinde's faction as the genuine Shiv Sena.
Uddhav Thackeray, the president of the Shiv Sena (UBT), challenged Rahul Narwekar, the assembly speaker, and Eknath Shinde, the chief minister of Maharashtra, to a public discussion about which group is the true Shiv Sena on Tuesday.
The day before, Thackeray had petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn Narwekar's ruling designating Shinde's group as the legitimate Shiv Sena.
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| At the NSCI Dome in Mumbai, Sanjay Raut, Uddhav Thackeray, and Aditya Thackeray were speaking about speaker Rahul Narvekar's choice during "Janta Nyayala." (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo) |
Thackeray declared, "I am taking this battle to the people's court, but I trust and respect the Supreme Court."
"There are those who argue that I should not have stepped down. I did not want to stay. We all know what happened next. The governor called an illegal session. He was a part of the plot. The fight now is to determine whether democracy will prevail in the nation," Thackeray stated during a press conference in Mumbai.
According to the party's constitution, Narwekar said on January 10 that the Shinde group was the genuine Shiv Sena and Thackeray lacked the authority to remove Shinde from his position as head of the legislature party.
The former chief minister questioned, "If I was not chief of Shiv Sena, why did the BJP take my signature for support in 2014 and 2019 after the Lok sabha elections?"
In reference to the vertical split in Sharad Pawar's NCP last year that saw Ajit Pawar become deputy chief minister in the Shinde government, Thackeray said, "BJP chief Nadda once said only one party will remain in the country. After that attempts were made to finish Shiv Sena and later NCP."
In response to Thackeray's statement, Maharashtra Speaker Narwekar said that attempts were being made to disseminate false information about his decision.
"They have passed remarks against the Supreme Court, Speaker, Governor, and Election Commission. It seems they (Shiv Sena-UBT) do not trust any institution," Narwekar said.
The power battle within the Shiv Sena began in 2022 when Shinde, backed by fifty MLAs, rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray, the then chief minister. Shinde and his allies then proceeded to Assam, where they claimed a claim to form government with the assistance of the BJP.
After the rebellion reduced the Maha Vikas Aghadi government to a minority, the Supreme Court ordered a floor test; however, Thackeray resigned before the test was held, and Shinde emerged victorious, becoming the chief minister and receiving the bow and arrow symbol from the Election Commission in February of last year.