Mumbai (Maharashtra): Hours after Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar ruled that the Eknath Shinde faction was the 'real' Shiv Sena, the Lok Sabha MP from the rival UBT faction, Priyanka Chaturvedi, dragged the BJP into the matter saying that everything happens in accordance with the wishes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
"I am not surprised at all. We are all aware of the saying 'Wahi hota hai jo manzoor-e-khuda' hota hai' (Whatever happens is determined by the will of God). However, after 2014, there's a new saying - 'Wahi hota hai Jo manzoor-e-Narendra Modi aur Amit Shah hota hai' (Whatever happens is determined by the will of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah). That is what we are seeing in Maharashtra," Chaturvedi told ANI on Wednesday.
The Sena leader from the Uddhav Thackeray faction said the Speaker's ruling was an "unfortunate compromise of ethics", as he 'overturned' what was described as 'illegal' by the Supreme Court.
"This is an unfortunate compromise of ethics. Something that was termed 'illegal' and 'unconstitutional' by the Supreme Court has been turned 'legal'. This is unfortunate," Chaturvedi said.
Delivering verdict on cross-petitions by Shiv Sena factions seeking disqualification of rival group MLAs after a split in the party in June last year, Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar said on Wednesday that the Shinde faction was real Shiv Sena when rival factions emerged.
The Speaker went into great length on the Shiv Sena constitution while delivering his crucial verdict and said "decision of Paksha Pramukh cannot be taken as decision of the political party.
On Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party president Sonia Gandhi and the party's Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury declining the invitation to the 'pran pratishtha' ceremony at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Chaturvedi said she does not intend to politicise the event as it is a matter of one's spirituality and devotion.
"As far as Ram Mandir is concerned, it concerns our devotion and I won't do any politics over it," Chaturvedi said.
However, she questioned the BJP citing the four Shankaracharyas, who have also declined to participate in the Pran Pratishtha ceremony.", "\"However, I do have a question. Four Shankaracharyas in the country have also said they won't participate in the ceremony. Are they wrong to have said so?\" Chaturvedi asked.
The Sena (UBT) leader took a further dig at the BJP, accusing it of indulging in politics over the Ram Mandir temple inauguration invite. ", "\"Lord Ram resides in all our hearts, minds, religion, faith, decisions and everyday activities. There is no politics over that. The question is...who is doing politics over this (temple inauguration)?\" Chaturvedi said.
Earlier in the day, the Congress turned down the invitation to the 'Pran Pratistha' ceremony of Lord Ram Lalla, scheduled later this month in Ayodhya calling it an event of the BJP and RSS.
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