Asking Uddhav Thackeray to seek trust vote in House was ‘considered’ decision: Bhagat Singh Koshyari

NEW DELHI: It was a ”considered” decision to ask former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to face a floor test during last year’s political crisis in the state, former governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari said on Thursday.

Delivering the much-awaited verdict on a batch of petitions related to the political crisis triggered by a revolt in the undivided Shiv Sena, the Supreme Court on Thursday held it cannot restore the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by then-chief minister Uddhav Thackeray as he resigned without facing a floor test in June last year, meaning Shinde will continue as the chief minister of Maharashtra.

In its judgement, the Supreme Court, however, pulled up Koshyari and said he did not have reasons based on objective material before him to arrive at the conclusion that then chief minister Thackeray had lost the confidence of the House.

”I am not an expert in law but I am knowledgeable about parliamentary and legislative traditions and it was a considered decision to ask the then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to seek a vote of confidence in the House,” Koshyari said while reacting to the Supreme Court verdict.

“I have been relieved from the post of governor. Three months have passed. I keep myself far away from politics. The court has given its decision on the issue… The legal experts can express their opinions,” he added.

Koshyari said that it is the job of the jurists to interpret the apex court judgement.

He said, “Whether it (Supreme Court) is right or wrong, it is not my job, it is the job of the reviewers. And when someone’s resignation came to me, should I have asked him not to resign?” It may be noted that the apex court refused to restore the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra. The court said that Uddhav Thackeray had voluntarily resigned from the post of Chief Minister of the state. The top court also said that the governor’s decision to swear in Eknath Shinde with the support of the single largest party Bharatiya Janata Party was correct since Thackeray did not face the trust vote in the House and resigned.

Source: Press Trust of India