Mumbai, Agency
Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP and chief Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said on Wednesday that his party is satisfied with the ongoing Supreme Court hearing of the case related to the election symbol and the split in the party.
"Today was the fourth day of the Supreme Court hearing in the election symbol case. Senior advocate Kapil is representing the Shiv Sena (Thackeray) party in the Supreme Court. This hearing is going on regarding Shiv Sena and the party symbol. Anil Desai, I and Arvind Sawant were present at this hearing. Our lawyer Kapil Sibal has made a very strong argument before the Supreme Court on behalf of our party. Due to the seriousness with which the Supreme Court is listening to our argument, I expect justice from the court. We want proper justice as per the Constitution and the law," Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut told media persons at a press conference.
"Our lawyer Kapil Sibal told the Supreme Court about the manner in which the Election Commission of India recognised a splinter group as a party and gave away our party symbol to the splinter group (Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena) without even holding a hearing. We argued that our party organisation did not split. Our argument was that a split in the legislature party does not mean a split in our party itself. The Supreme Court asked us some questions and our lawyer Kapil Sibal presented our position before the court," Sanjay Raut said.
"Basically, our argument was that the date on which the split occurred within the legislative party is crucial. This is because there was no split in our party itself at that time. The split was confined only to the legislative party. Therefore, only that specific split should be recognised. Our party (the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray) organisation remains strong today, just as it was then," Sanjay Raut said.
"We argued that rather than focusing on subsequent events, the verdict regarding the party (Uddhav-led Shiv Sena) and its symbol should be based on the events of June 21, 2022. The party led by Uddhav Thackeray is structured democratically. Uddhav Thackeray is the party chief, and he is followed by 13 leaders, 32 deputy leaders, state organisers, as well as party secretaries even today," Sanjay Raut said.
"After establishing our party's structure through a democratic process, we had duly informed the Election Commission in accordance with the rules. We also possess the Commission's acknowledgment of the information we provided. Therefore, we argued that the Election Commission's actions, which went beyond its authority to grant recognition, party name as well as election symbol to a breakaway splinter group, are illegal and unconstitutional," Sanjay Raut said.
"We argued before the Supreme Court that the manner in which the Election Commission recognised a splinter group (Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena) as a party and gave away the election symbol of the original party (Uddhav-led Shiv Sena) to the splinter group, without even conduction a hearing was illegal. We argued that the Election Commission committed a constitutional scandal while making such a decision.
"Our argument before the court was that the Election Commission had already decided what decision to take, but it pretended to listen to us and asked us for documents. This is because the Election Commission was under political pressure from invisible forces. But the Constitution of the country is bigger than that," Sanjay Raut said.
"There was immense political pressure on the Election Commission, and so it gave away our (Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena) party election symbol to thieves. We argued that our party election symbol which has gone into the wrong hands should be taken away from them (Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena)," Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP and chief Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said.
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