'We are back to Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram': Kapil Sibal arguing for Uddhav Thackeray in Supreme Court
Is Eknath Shinde a faction or a party, Kapil Sibal asked in the Supreme Court. Because if he is a party then why did he go to the election commission demanding the symbol and the name, Kapil Sibal argued.
In the hearing of the Sena symbol row in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, senior advocate Kapil Sibal arguing for former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said what happened in Maharashtra is a mockery and it is not only limited to Maharashtra -- it's about Meghalaya, Manipur and everywhere else. Sibal was arguing for Uddhav Thackeray who challenged the election commission's verdict to recognise Eknath Shinde's faction as the real Shiv Sena. "We are back to Aya Ram Gaya Ram. Why? Because you say now that the political affiliations don't matter, what matters are numbers. Democracy isn't numbers," Sibal said, as quoted by LiveLaw. Read | What happened after 3 years of Sena-NCP-Cong's happy marriage?: CJI Chandrachud
"For example, there is a small party that has 5 members. Two of them go to the governor saying 'I won't support the government'. Will the governor call the floor test? Forget majority, even the minority can topple the government," Sibal said.
Referring to the rebellion of Eknath Shinde which brought down the Uddhav-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government, Sibal asked on what Constitutional basis Shinde called himself a political party. "How could the governor call Eknath Shinde? Who is Eknath Shinde? I'm talking in constitutional terms. The argument is that Shinde is the group leader. Under which law?" Sibal said.
Before the Supreme Court, Shinde is saying he is the political party, but before the election commission, he is saying he is the faction. “Because if he is the political party, then why is he going to the EC?” Sibal argued.
Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud made some observations during the hearing over the entire Maharashtra crisis and he questioned the role the then Governor played in the change of the government. The CJI also asked what happened that the Shinde camp remained with the Congress and the NCP for three years and one fine day they claimed there was discontent.
