Shiv Sena symbol row: SC issues Shinde, EC notices

New Delhi: In the Shiv Sena official symbol issue, the Supreme Court issued notices to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the Election Commission (EC) of India on Wednesday. After the EC allocated the ‘bow and arrow’ symbol to the Shinde faction, Uddhav Thackeray moved Supreme Court challenging the poll panel’s decision, Hindustan Times reported.

However, the court refused to restrain Shinde-faction taking over the properties and finances of Shiv Sena.

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud observed that restraining the Shinde faction would amount to staying the EC order, and the court could not do that since EC has succeeded there.

Questioning the maintainability of the Thackeray faction’s petition, the Shinde team argued in the court that Thackeray must approach Delhi High Court first to challenge the EC order.

It was on Monday Thackeray moved Supreme Court after the Shinde camp took over the Sena office in the Maharashtra Assembly. Also, the Lok Sabha secretariat informed that the Sena parliamentary party office in Delhi was also given to the Shinde group.

According to Thackeray’s petition before Supreme Court, EC failed to act as a neutral arbiter in the dispute between the two factions. Thackeray alleged that everything was stolen from him, including the name and symbol of the party, but he asserted at a presser that the name Thackeray could not be stolen.

The Election Commission allotted the name Shiv Sena and its symbol to the Shinde group last Friday. Shinde group had quit Thackeray’s side and joined BJP to form government in Maharastra. The rebellion ended the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state, run jointly by Sena, Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party.