Targetting the Centre, Shiv Sena (UBT) President and former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday asked 'why does the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) need a 38-party National Democratic Alliance’ since it has the ED, I-T and CBI.
The faction had further sought removal of Eknath Shinde, Gulabrao Patil, Tanji Sawant, and Uday Samant from party posts.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led faction filed a petition in the apex court challenging the Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari's decision to invite Eknath Shinde to form government and also the Speaker's election and floor test. A vacation bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and JK Maheshwari posted the matter for Monday, along with other pending pleas.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray's son and MNS president Amit Thackeray also slammed the Shinde-Fadnavis camp for the decision and said that he was shocked by the decision.
As per the sources, Maharashtra CM and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar will not be physically present in the Cabinet meeting today.
The decision was taken in public interest to ensure a smooth functioning of all departments and not hinder the decision-making process in view of the absence of the five cabinet ministers and four ministers of state, according to Thackeray.
Earlier, the MNS chief was planning to go on trip to Ayodhya on June 5, but last week he cancelled it, and was interpreted as a huge setback to the party.
During his visit, thousands of Shiv Sainiks and Yuva Sainiks will join Aditya from Maharashtra and other parts of India, he added.
In a tweet Prime Minister Modi said that Balasaheb Thackeray would be remembered as an outstanding leader who always stood with the people.
"Though the central government has yet to order a probe, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has constituted a committee to delve into the issue. The Maharashtra government should also form a similar committee to go into the matter,"
