In a strong reaction, the Maharashtra Congress on Thursday said that the Supreme Court verdict has proved that "the BJP is dangerous for democracy and can stoop to any levels to grab power".
"The Supreme Court has taken serious note of various things including how every action of the (then) Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari in bringing down the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was blatantly wrong. We have been saying this consistently that the BJP misused the Raj Bhavan to topple our government," Maharashtra unit Congress President Nana Patole said.
Terming the Supreme Court's verdict that the (current) government is illegal and unconstitutional as a 'tight slap' on the ruling dispensation, Patole said that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and Speaker Rahul Narwekar should resign on moral grounds.
The state Congress chief said that not only did the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) abuse Raj Bhavan, but also other agencies to bring down the MVA government, and now all those decisions are proved wrong.
"The observations of the Supreme Court while delivering the verdict makes it obvious that the BJP has discarded democracy. It is dangerous and they will stoop down to any level to grab power," Patole said.
He reiterated that the central agencies and other Constitutional offices have become puppets of the power-hungry BJP government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "and this is a real threat to democracy and the Constitution."
Congress Chief Spokesperson Atul Londhe said that the manner in which the Speaker (Rahul Narwekar) is giving reactions to the Supreme Court verdict makes it appear that he is not impartial but working for a party and "has no moral right to hold his office".
State General Secretary Sachin Sawant said that the former Governor remained an RSS worker who tarnished the dignity of his august post, and "the people of Maharashtra will never forgive the BJP for muddying politics in its greed for power".
On the authority of the Speaker (Narwekar) to take a decision on the disqualification of the 16 MLAs including Shinde, Patole said "he is expected to decide in an impartial manner".
"Though the Shinde-Fadnavis government may have got a temporary reprieve and now survives on technical grounds, the observations made by the Supreme Court are worrying as this regime has been virtually declared illegal and unconstitutional," Patole said.
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