Shortly after SC order, Uddhav Thackeray resigns as Maha CM

Mumbai, Jun 29: Shortly after the Supreme Court's order on the plea challenging the Maharashtra Governor's direction to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government to take a floor test in the Assembly on Thursday, Uddhav Thackeray has resigned as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

"I am resigning as the Chief Minister," Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray announced in a webcast. He also announced his resignation as MLC too.

The MVA government in Maharashtra has been facing a political crisis after a revolt in Shiv Sena. The rebel MLAs led by Eknath Shinde have been camping in Guwahati.

Uddhav Thackeray also expressed gratitude to NCP and Congress, allies in the coalition government. "I want to express my gratitude to the people of NCP and Congress that they supported me. From Shiv Sena, Anil Parab, Subhash Desai and Aaditya Thackeray, these people were only present when the proposal was passed while NCP and Congress people also supported the proposal," he said.

He also expressed to Maharashtra cabinet decisions taken earlier day. "I am satisfied that we have officially renamed Aurangabad to Sambhaji Nagar and Osmanabad to Dharashiv - the cities named by Balasaheb Thackeray," he said.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave its go ahead for floor test in Maharashtra Assembly tomorrow as it refused to stay the state Governor's decision which was challenged by Shiv Sena chief whip Sunil Prabhu.

"We are not staying tomorrow's floor test," the Supreme Court bench said. The court also issued notice on Shiv Sena Chief Whip Sunil Prabhu's plea and said that tomorrow's floor test will be subject to the outcome of the present petition.

The court will hear his plea on July 11. A vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and J B Pardiwala had earlier in the day reserved the decision on the plea filed by Sunil Prabhu challenging Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari's direction to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to hold the floor test on June 30 (Thursday).

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had asked the Uddhav Thackeray government in the state to prove a majority on the floor of the House on June 30 stating that the "present political scenario" unfolding in the state paints a "very disturbing picture."

The Governor wrote to the state Assembly secretary to convene a special session of the State Assembly tomorrow with the only agenda of a trust vote against CM Thackeray. BJP leader and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had met the Governor on Tuesday evening after returning from Delhi, and submitted a letter to him demanding an immediate floor test.