'Shakuni' Fadnavis and 'Duryodhana' Ajit Pawar killed Maharashtra's democracy: Congress
The trio of Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Shiv Sena was caught off guard as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) formed the government with the help of Ajit Pawar in Maharashtra. Miffed with series of events, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said, "Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar acted like Shakuni and Duryodhana and killed the democracy in the state." It was a black day for democracy, he added. The Congress has posed ten questions to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister over Maharashtra developments.
Surjewala sought to know when the BJP staked claim to form the government and how many MLAs' signed letter of support was presented to the governor. How did the Maharashtra governor verify signatures and at what time he recommended revocation of the President rule and when the Union government accepted that, he said.
The Congress leader said the party was also exploring legal recourse.
In a dramatic turn of events that ended the month-long impasse in Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday took oath as the chief minister again, along with Ajit Pawar as the deputy chief minister. The development comes at a time when the nation was expecting that NCP, Shiv Sena and Congress would stitch an alliance excluding the BJP to stake a claim to form the government. President's rule was revoked at 5.47 am to facilitate the sudden oath ceremony.
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered the oath to the two leaders at Raj Bhawan. Within minutes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Fadnavis and Pawar. “I am confident they will work diligently for the bright future of Maharashtra,” he said.
Soon after the political development, Sharad Pawar said his nephew Ajit Pawar’s decision to ally with the BJP was a “personal” one and not taken by the party. “We place on record that we do not support or endorse this decision of his,” he tweeted.
The BJP, which emerged as the single largest party with 105 seats in 288-member assembly, could not stake claim to form a government as its ally Shiv Sena remained firm on a rotating Chief Minister.
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(With IANS inputs)
