‘Democracy murdered in Maharashtra’: Rahul Gandhi in Parliament

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the government over the political situation in Maharashtra and said “democracy has been murdered” .

Gandhi, who was supposed to ask a question during the Question Hour, refused to do so amid protests by the opposition. “There is no point in my asking the question as democracy has been murdered in Maharashtra,” he said.

Opposition lawmakers protested in Lok Sabha when the House began proceedings on Monday morning. They raised slogans of “stop murder of democracy” during the Question Hour. Speaker Om Birla then adjourned proceedings till 12 pm.

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Congress, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday gave an adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha over “sabotage of democracy in Maharashtra”. CPM has given an adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha over the situation in Maharashtra.

In Rajya Sabha, opposition wanted suspension of business to discuss the revocation of President’s rule in Maharashtra. The chair didn’t agree and the MPs began shouting slogans. The House has been adjourned till 2 pm.

There were also protests by the opposition outside Parliament. Congress president Sonia Gandhi led the party’s protest on the premises of Parliament against the BJP’s move to form a government in Maharashtra.

Congress leaders like Anand Sharma and Adhir Ranjan Choudhury raised slogans and held placards criticising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis took oath as chief minister of Maharashtra and NCP’s Ajit Pawar was sworn-in as his deputy in a move that took many by surprise. This development came just hours after NCP chief Sharad Pawar said Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray will lead the Sena-NCP-Congress alliance in the state.

The three-party alliance has approached the Supreme Court against Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s decision to invite Fadnavis to form a government. The Sena-NCP-Congress alliance claims that BJP doesn’t have the numbers to pass a floor test in the Maharashtra assembly.

The BJP with 105 MLAs is the single-largest party in the 288-member Maharashtra assembly. The NCP has 54, Shiv Sena 56, and Congress 44 MLAs. Other parties and independents have a strength of 29. The halfway mark in the assembly is 144.