Governor, PM and President all responsible for Maharashtra affair: Chidambaram

Former Finance Minister Chidambaram slams the govt over Maharashtra issue terming it as an assault on the Office of the President

Former Finance Minister Chidambaram. File

Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on November 27 attacked BJP over the manner in which Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Maharashtra Chief Minister, saying, “the Governor, the Prime Minister and President are all responsible”.

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“That is the way they celebrate Constitution Day. That is the honour they show to the Constitution. The Governor, the Prime Minister and President are all responsible for the midnight affair,” the 74-year senior Congress leader said.

“It is sad that the President is involved. I am deeply sad that the President was woken up at 4 in the morning,” Mr. Chidambaram said while stepping out of the crowded courtroom in New Delhi.

Special Judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar extended Mr. Chidambaram’s judicial custody till December 11 in the INX Media money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate.

‘Assault on office of President’

Earlier in the day, Mr. Chidambaram, in a tweet posted by his family on his behalf, said that it was an “assault” on the office of the President to wake him at 4 a.m. to get the order revoking President’s rule signed.

“What will remain in memory of Constitution Day 2019 is the most egregious violation of the Constitution in Maharashtra between November 23 and November 26, 2019,” said the tweet.

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“It was an assault on the office of Rasthrapathi to wake him up at 4 a.m. to sign an order revoking President’s Rule. Why could it not have waited until 9 a.m. in the morning?” he asked in another tweet.

Mr. Chidambaram also extended greetings to the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress coalition that is set to form government in Maharashtra.

“People who observe the evolution of Parliamentary democracy will agree that complex, diverse, plural societies are best governed by coalitions that learn to compromise and agree on a Common Minimum Programme,” he said.

Chidambaram urged the ‘Maharashtra Vikas Aaghadi’ — the coalition of the Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress — to subordinate “individual party interests” and work together to implement the three parties’ common interests — farmers’ welfare, investment, employment, social justice and women and child welfare.

Karti Chidambaram meets father

After meeting his father at Tihar jail along with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, Karti Chidambaram spoke to reporters about the political developments in Maharashtra, and said that it was good that the “post-poll alliance” held together.

“It exposed the cavalier manner in which the constitutional functionaries went about forming a government at midnight and awaking the President to sign a proclamation... I hope our coalition will now be able to give a good government in Maharashtra,” he said.

“My father is very pleased that we have been able to form an alliance and deny the BJP an entry into government which they tried through a very, very surreptitious process,” Mr. Karti Chidambaram said.

Mr. Fadnavis resigned as Maharashtra Chief Minister on November 26 ahead of the floor test, shortly after rebel NCP leader Ajit Pawar made a u-turn and quit as his Deputy, in another dramatic twist to the month-long political saga that will see Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray being sworn in as the BJP leader’s successor on November 28.