Sibbal pushed into piquant situation by Supreme Court?

Bhubaneswar, July 21(Reporters Today): What happens when the Chief Justice of India asks a question to an eminent lawyer fighting a constitutional case that whether ‘majority’ opinion in a political party can be thwarted by a ‘minority’ group in the party. This question on Wednesday by the Chief Justice of India NV Ramana to ace lawyer Kapil Sibbal during a hearing on Maharashtra’s Shiv Sena tussle between two groups has far reaching implications. Political parties, especially, the ‘dynastic’ ones like Samajwadi Party, Congress, National Conference, Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena need to be wary with such observations of the CJI.

In a democratic set up, the majority voice is always the yardstick. Be it election, choosing a leader or governance. Rarely has it happened that the ‘majority’ aspect has been ignored. It is majority that helps a party form a government, it is majority again during the election of a leader of any political party, and it is majority only when matters are settle in the country or in any political party. Hence the question of the CJI to the Sibbal that can Uddhav Thackery remain the Chief Minister if he did not enjoy the confidence of his own party men.

Sibbal has been asked to furnish his reply to the Supreme Court of India and he is now under legal obligations to do it.

The Maharashtra political imbroglio has stirred the political conscience of the country. The sudden split in a party like Shiv Sena is surprising but as the situation develops it appears resentment has been brewing for a long time, especially after the Maha Vikash Aghadi government was formed in the State following alliance between the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress. The alliance of these three parties had surpised political pundits as they have totally contrast ideologies. A majority group of Shiv Sena chose to form a separate group under the ‘Shiv Sena’ banner while claiming to be the ‘Original’ party and that is not to the liking of the scion of the Thackrey family – Uddhav Thackrey who is the son of Hindu Hriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackrey. It is but natural that the son of Balasaheb would not like the party, formed by his father, to go to any other hand. Hence, Uddhav has taken recourse to the apex court to save himself politically, his party from going to some other hand and any shock to his political clout. But the developments in the past few weeks have landed him in a peculiar or awkward situation. His recourse to legal means follows his hectic efforts to pacify the disgruntled group of party men who have joined hands with Eknath Shinde.

The apex court in its wisdom has hinted about entrusting the case to decide the dispute to a larger constitutional bench. When the matter moves to a larger constitutional bench, its observations will be binding not only for the Shiv Sena but can be sited in all similar issues in future.

Everybody is well aware that there is rumbling in the Congress, Samajwadi Party, the NCP, AIADMK etc. The developments in Shiv Sena in all likelihood may influence such parties as very often than not the ‘founding families’ of such political parties tend to act arbitrarily as has been seen in Congress and Samajwadi parties recently.

All eyes will now focus on the outcome of the Constitutional Judgement as and when it is formed and hears the Maharashtra issue.