Ex-CJI Chandrachud has allayed fear of law among political defectors, claims Raut | India News – Times of India

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday criticized former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, arguing that he had allayed fear of the law among politicians who had defected from parties in Maharashtra. Raut alleged that by not ruling on the disqualification petitions, Chandrachud was keeping doors and windows open for defections.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader’s statement comes after his party faced severe beatings in the state Assembly elections as it managed to win only 20 of the 95 seats it contested as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
The performance of the party’s alliance partners was no better with the Congress winning only 16 of the 101 seats and the NCP (SP) getting only 10 of the 86 seats it contested.
Speaking to reporters, Raut claimed, “He (Chandrachud) has removed the fear of the law from defectors. His name will be written in black letters in history.”
After the split in the undivided Shiv Sena in 2022, the party faction led by Uddhav Thackeray filed petitions in the Supreme Court on the disqualification of party MLAs who had defected along with Eknath Shinde. The apex court placed the onus on the assembly speaker to decide the disqualification petitions, which he did earlier this year, declaring the Sena bloc led by Shinde as the “real political party”.
Raut claimed that the results of the parliamentary elections were predetermined. If the then Court of Justice had ruled on the disqualification requests in a timely manner, the outcome would have been different.
“We are sad but not disappointed. We will not leave the battle incomplete. The distribution of votes also played a role, and the RSS played an important role in the elections. The toxic campaign had a negative impact on us,” he said.
He said the swearing-in ceremony for the new government should take place in neighboring Gujarat.
Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader in his weekly column ‘Rokhthok’ in the party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ claimed that it was time to express condolences to the Election Commission, which turned a blind eye to the use of money power.
“The courts have been in intensive care for a long time,” he claimed.