Through a caustic op-ed in its mouthpiece Saamna, the Shiv Sena took aim at BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis for accepting the post of deputy chief minister in the new Maharashtra government.
The editorial harked back to the alliance talks between the Shiv Sena and the BJP ahead of the 2019 state assembly polls. “The formula for power sharing was decided on by both parties before the elections, then why did they [BJP] break the alliance over the post of chief minister at that time?”
It essentially asked Fadnavis, if he had to accept the deputy CM’s post now, why did he not agree to it back in 2019 and break off the alliance. “He was to come back as chief minister but became deputy chief minister instead,” it jibed.
Slamming the BJP and the rebel faction for seizing power through “immoral means”, the editorial said ousted CM Uddhav Thackeray was betrayed overnight by those who claimed to be his loyalists and supporters.
READ | Overnight rebellion within Shiv Sena to Eknath Shinde as CM, how the Maharashtra drama unfolded
Without naming Eknath Shinde or the BJP, the editorial stated, “Whatever happened on Thursday in Maharashtra proves that power is everything and everything else is a lie. Those who said that we did not betray Shiv Sena for power put the crown of the chief minister’s post on themselves. That too with the support of those who said they had nothing to do with the whole rebellion.”
In the editorial, the Shiv Sena attacked the Supreme Court for staying the disqualification of the rebel MLAs and Maharashtra Governor BS Kothyari for ordering a floor test at the BJP and dissenting faction’s insistence.
“The governor and the court hanged the truth on a peg and delivered the verdict It is beyond the Constitution to ask the government to prove its majority till the decision regarding the disqualification of MLAs who have defected, violated party orders. But when the protectors of the Constitution start doing such illegal acts and bend the scales of justice, then what hope is there?”
READ | Maharashtra crisis: Governor working with BJP; order to conduct floor test illegal, says Raut
Talking about their own revolting MLAs, the editorial said, “People have to achieve everything by shortcuts. There is rampant abuse of unlimited power and brute majority. A system has been prepared to harass opponents by troubling them in every possible way. .. Those who speak out are being crushed using systems available.”
Accusing the BJP and the Governor of complicity in the rebellion by Shiv Sena MLAs, it states, “What superpower was trying to break the MLAs of Shiv Sena, it has been revealed from the army deployed in Mumbai. But is the process of changing party and promoting division going on in the Raj Bhavan? How can the protectors of the Constitution give strength to Raj Bhavan to create instability in Maharashtra? How can our courts and governors destroy the right of a democratically appointed assembly? The answers to these questions have never been so vague, but today no one wants answers.”