Lost a sensitive, cultured chief minister: Sanjay Raut on Uddhav's resignation

Mumbai, Jun 29: Soon after Uddhav Thackeray resigned as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, MP Sanjay Raut said, "We have lost a sensitive and cultured chief minister."

Taking to Twitter, Raut rold, "History tells us that the end of fraud is not good. Thackeray won, the people also won. This is the beginning of the grand victory of Shiv Sena. Let's eat sticks. Let's go to jail. But Balasaheb's Shiv Sena Keep it burning!".

Stating that he was not interested "in playing the numbers' game," Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said he was resigning from his post.

Thackeray's announcement came minutes after the Supreme Court refused to stay Maharashtra Governor's direction to the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress Maha Vikas Aghadi government to take a floor test in the Assembly on Thursday.

He had no regret leaving his post, Thackeray, who was facing a rebellion by majority of Shiv Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde, said. Thackeray, who heads the Shiv Sena, appealed to Sena workers to allow the rebel legislators to return and not take to the streets in protest.

The rebels, earlier in the evening, left Guwahati where they were camping for over a week, and landed in Goa. "Let the rebels who grew politically because of Shiv Sena and Balasaheb Thackeray get joy and satisfaction of pulling down his son from the post of chief minister," Uddhav Thackeray said.

"I don't want to get into the numbers' game. It would be shameful for me to see if even one of my own party colleagues stands against me," he said.

He also thanked Congress president Sonia Gandhi and NCP chief Sharad Pawar for their cooperation and support while running the MVA government.

The Shiv Sena had challenged before the apex court Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari's order to the Assembly secretary to schedule a floor test on Thursday morning.