NEW DELHI: Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah over what she described “as a shameless attempt to subvert democracy in Maharashtra”, Congress president Sonia Gandhi Thursday said that every effort was made to blatantly sabotage the formation of the three-party alliance government and the Modi-Shah government has been exposed.
Addressing Congress parliamentary party general body meeting at Central Hall of Parliament, Gandhi said: “Let me assure you, we three parties are united in our resolve to defeat the BJP’s sordid manipulations.”“We are meeting this (Thursday) morning in the backdrop of what can only be described as a shameless attempt to subvert democracy in Maharashtra.
You are all aware of the sequence of events. The Governor behaved in an unprecedented and most reprehensible manner. There is no doubt that he acted under the instructions of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister,” she said. Her remarks come as the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s Uddhav Thackeray took oath as the Maharashtra CM at Shivaji Park.
Attacking the BJP, Sonia said that the right-wing party’s pre-poll alliance with Shiv Sena did not hold because of its arrogance and over-confidence. “Every effort was made to blatantly sabotage the three-party alliance government, but we appealed to the Supreme Court and the Modi-Shah government was exposed,” she said.
Congress top brass skips swearing-in ceremony
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, former PM Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi skipped CM Uddhav Thackeray’s swearing-in ceremony on Thursday. Senior party leaders Ahmed Patel, Mallikarjun Kharge and MP Chief Minister Kamal Nath attended the ceremony at Shivaji Park.
Sonia, however, sent a message to Uddhav and said, “Three parties (Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) have come together under extraordinary circumstances and elements of the common minimum programme to be implemented in letter and spirit.” Rahul also wrote to Thackeray, saying that he was glad that the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi has come together to defeat the BJP’s attempt to undermine democracy. Among opposition leaders only DMK chief MK Stalin was present.