The Supreme Court on Wednesday dashed the hopes of Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government to retain power in Maharashtra by refusing to stay a floor test called for by Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on June 30 on a request made by Leader of Opposition and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis.
This second consecutive body blow the Supreme Court dealt the beleaguered Thackeray government in as many days proved too much for the ruling coalition. Chief Minister Thackeray announced his resignation within minutes of the Supreme Court order, negating the need for a trust vote which was otherwise scheduled for 11 a.m. on Thursday.
On June 27, a Vacation Bench of Justices Surya Kant and J.B. Pardiwala virtually froze Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal’s power to proceed with the disqualification of Shiv Sena dissident MLAs led by Eknath Shinde for defection. The dissidents were given extra time till July 12 to respond to the charges.
