• 'Still respect you...': Uddhav Thackeray's message to rebels as he quit as CM

    Politics
    'Still respect you...': Uddhav Thackeray's message to rebels as he quit as CM




    mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> Digital Desk: Uddhav Thackeray, the
    leader of the Shiv Sena, resigned as chief minister of Maharashtra late on
    Wednesday night, less than an hour after the Supreme Court approved a floor
    test that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government would have lost. I still respect
    your feelings, Thackeray said in an emotional appeal to the rebel MLAs who
    sided with Eknath Shinde to topple his 2.5-year-old government during his
    resignation address, which was streamed live on Facebook.



     



    "With whom are you upset? Me?
    The other two MVA members: Congress or Nationalist Congress Party? You should
    have come to me at Matoshree instead of going to Surat and speaking up
    "Thackeray chastised the insurgents.



     



    Thackeray also complimented NCP
    leader Sharad Pawar and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, both of whom have been
    unwavering in their support during this crisis, in his succinct but dignified
    statement.



     



    Aaditya Thackeray was one of the
    four Sena ministers present at the Wednesday cabinet meeting, which he used as
    an opportunity to poke fun at the rebels.



    "To display numbers in a
    democracy, heads are counted. That doesn't interest me. They will claim
    tomorrow that they have deposed Shiv Sena leader Balasaheb Thackeray's
    son."



     



    The Supreme Court earlier cleared
    the way for the floor test set for Thursday morning at a little after 9
    o'clock.



     



    After a flurry of disputes between
    Uddhav Thackeray, governor Koshyari, and the rebels led by Shinde, the test was
    cleared.



    Since Shinde left Maharashtra for
    Surat in BJP-ruled Gujarat and later moved to Guwahati in BJP-ruled Assam with
    a gradually expanding following, the Maharashtra administration has been mired
    in crisis for the past week.



     



    The rebels left Assam this evening
    on a chartered SpiceJet flight for Goa, where they were reserved rooms at
    another luxury hotel. They were scheduled to get there immediately for a floor
    test that will no longer take place.



    50 MPs, including around 40 from the
    Sena, are said to support Shinde, which would have been more than enough to
    topple the MVA administration and likely contributed to Uddhav Thackeray's
    resignation.



     



    Uddhav Thackeray has appealed to the rebels multiple times
    over the past week in tones ranging from impassioned to aggressive, imploring
    them to stand down and return to Mumbai.



     



    In addition, he declared that he would resign as chief
    minister and leave the MVA if the dissident lawmakers saw him in person, which
    was a demand made by Shinde, who referred to the coalition as
    "unholy."