Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar, defending his decision to recognise chief minister Eknath Shinde’s faction as the legitimate Shiv Sena on Tuesday, emphasised that his actions were in line with the guidelines provided by the Supreme Court.

Following a press conference by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray where he criticised Narwekar’s January 10 ruling on disqualification petitions filed by both Shinde and Thackeray camps against each other’s MLAs after a split in the party in June 2022, the speaker addressed the media.

In his ruling, Narwekar had maintained that the Sena’s 1999 constitution would be the valid one for determining the authentic Shiv Sena faction.

Narwekar said, “On 10th January, I read judgment on disqualification (of MLAs). For the last six days, some political leaders and workers have been misleading people about my judgment. Shiv Sena (UBT) is using derogatory language against me. They don’t even respect the Assembly speaker. It’s really harmful to the democratic structure.”

Narwekar explained his decision to reject the undivided Shiv Sena’s amended constitution of 2018. He pointed out that at that time, the party had informed the Election Commission only about Uddhav Thackeray being the party chief without submitting the amended constitution.

Narwekar said that the rules established by a party should not merely exist on paper but must be effectively put into practice.

He said, “My actions were based on the Supreme Court’s guidelines.”

On Tuesday, Thackeray openly challenged Shinde and Narwekar to engage in a public debate with him to determine the authentic Shiv Sena faction.

Former Maharashtra CM Thackeray questioned the rationale behind the BJP seeking his support in 2014 and 2019 after the Lok Sabha elections if he was not the Shiv Sena chief.

“I am taking this battle to the people’s court,” he said.

Highlighting the significance of the ongoing battle between his party and the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Thackeray asserted that this conflict would ultimately decide whether democracy would endure in the country.