Shiv Sena MLAs have been asked to go back to their constituencies in order to help farmers affected by losses.
NCP-Congress coordination committee meets
The meeting of Congress and NCP leaders to finalise the common minimum programme is under way at an undisclosed location in Mumbai. Earlier, there was confusion over the meeting taking place after NCP leader Ajit Pawar’s comments that he doesn't know when the meeting will take place. Later, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said his nephew had made the comment to avoid the media.
Meanmwhile, former Chief Minister and Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan has tweeted that the the meeting is on. “A meeting of Congress Party senior leaders is going on. All other news aired by electronic media are baseless,” Mr. Chavan has tweeted with a picture.
Amit Shah defends Maharashtra Governor’s decision
BJP chief and Union Home Minister Amit Shah has defended the Maharashtra Governor's decision to recommend President's rule. “The Governor gave full time to everyone... time of about 18 days was given but no one could prove majority. The Governor made the recommendation when the term of the Legislative Assembly ended on November 9. Even today, if someone has a majority, they can meet the Governor and stake claim,” he has said in Hindi in a video posted on his official twitter handle.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Photo: Twitter/@AmitShah
Mr. Shah has dismissed the Opposition's reaction to President's rule in Maharashtra as sheer politics. “The Governor did not violate the Constitution. The Governor has recommended President's rule only after inviting the NCP in the afternoon, and after waiting till 8 p.m. for a move towards government formation.”
“The need for President's rule came to avoid Opposition allegations that the Governor was running a BJP government by proxy. Now, everyone has six months time. If anyone has majority then meet the Governor. But dragging a Constitutional post into politics is very unfortunate,” he has added.
It’s up to the Sena to fit Hindutva in CMP with Congress, says BJP
The BJP has appeared needling its ally-turned-political rival Shiv Sena, which is trying to stitch up a coalition government in Maharashtra with ideologically incompatible Congress and NCP, on “Hindutva“.
“It is up to the Shiv Sena how to fit their Hindutva agenda in the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) with the Congress,” senior BJP leader and Union Minister Raosaheb Danve has said. “The Congress, which is a 150-year-old party, will obviously take its agenda further (in government),” he has told a news channel.
The Sena often projects itself as a party that propagates Hindutva, which remains an ideological glue between the Uddhav Thackeray-led party and the BJP.
Mr. Thackeray late on November 12 said the Sena needed a clarity on the CMP just like the Congress and the NCP if a government is to be formed with their support.
Maharashtra Congress MLAs return from Rajasthan
A day after President’s rule was imposed in Maharashtra, Congress MLAs who were camping at a resort in Jaipur for the last five days returned to Mumbai on Wednesday.
“We are all going home now,” an MLA, who did not wish to be named, told PTI.
Next CM will be from Sena: Raut
Next Chief Minister of Maharashtra will be from the Shiv Sena, said party leader Sanjay Raut, who was discharged from Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai after undergoing angioplasty.
Mr. Raut, the executive editor of the Sena’s mouthpiece Saamana , became the face of the party’s repeated demand for chief ministership for 2.5 years and 50:50 split in portfolios ever since poll results were announced.
'BJP is Duryodhan, Sena is Shiva'
The front page of Wednesday’s Saamana — the Shiv Sena mouthpiece — criticised the BJP for forcing President’s Rule on Maharashtra. “We will not give Shiv Sena what was decided and not form the government either — this stance by BJP has betrayed the State,” said the news report.
Saamana ’s editorial has likened the BJP to Duryodhan stating that the party did not give Sena what was decided even if that means sitting in the opposition.
According to Mahabharata, Duryodhan refuses Pandavas their share of kingdom that eventually leads to the Kurukshetra War.
The editorial has also likened Shiv Sena to Neelkanth, a name of Lord Shiva, which he got after drinking poison that came out while churning for nectar. The editorial said, in this case, the Sena drank the poison served by the BJP.
NCP names five members to prepare common minimum programme
The NCP has named five members for a joint committee to be formed with the Congress for deciding a ‘common minimum programme’ before their possible alliance with the Shiv Sena for government formation in Maharashtra.
NCP’s legislature party head Ajit Pawar, its Maharashtra chief Jayant Patil, party veteran Chhagan Bhujbal, Mumbai unit president Nawab Malik and Leader of the Opposition in state Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde will be part of the committee.
Shiv Sena not to mention plea challenging Maharashtra Governor's decision
The Shiv Sena will not mention in the Supreme Court on Wednesday its plea challenging the Governor’s decision of not granting it 3 days time for getting letter of support for government formation in Maharashtra, according to the party lawyer.
The lawyer representing Shiv Sena in the apex court told PTI that the party has preferred not to mention the petition.
BJP decides to keep doors open for Sena
Following Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s recommendation to impose President’s Rule in Maharashtra , the BJP’s core committee held an urgent meeting on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the way forward.
While the party’s head offices at Nariman Point bore a deserted look, a senior BJP leader said the party was keeping open the option of talks with the Shiv Sena in case the latter wanted to continue with the grand alliance.
“The doors for talks between the BJP and the Shiv Sena are never closed, though one of their Ministers have resigned at the Centre. As far we are concerned, the door for talks are open,” a senior BJP Minister said.
Former Chief Minister and BJP’s legislative head in the State Devendra Fadnavis said it was unfortunate that despite a clear mandate for the alliance, a government could not be formed in the State. “It is unfortunate that the Governor had to impose President’s Rule. We hope the State gets a stable government very soon,” he said.
Judgment day for disqualified Karnataka legislators
The political uncertainty around disqualification of rebel Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) legislators is expected to see a closure on Wednesday with the Supreme Court listing the case for order in the morning.
The court’s ruling will also set off political activity as parties have been waiting for the order to set their agenda and decide on candidates ahead of the scheduled bypolls on December 5, even though the model code of conduct came into place on Monday.
For nearly three months, the disqualified legislators have been anxious about their fate after former Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar disqualified them in July following their resignations, which brought down the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition and paved the way for B.S. Yediyurappa to form the government on a wafer-thin margin.
Travesty of norms: Congress
The Congress on Tuesday alleged that Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had made a “mockery” of the constitutional process and a “travesty of democratic norms” by recommending President's Rule in the State. The party’s chief spokesperson, Randeep Surjewala, questioned the Governor’s “arbitrary allotment of time” to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Shiv Sena and the BJP.
“Governor Koshyari has committed a grave travesty of democracy and made a mockery of the constitutional process in recommending President’s Rule,” he said.
‘Kamal Haasan will face same fate as Sivaji Ganesan in politics’
Countering criticism by actor-politician Kamal Hassan, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Tuesday said Mr. Hassan would face the same fate as Thespian Sivaji Ganesan in politics.
“They say there is (political) vacuum (in Tamil Nadu), then why did they not contest in the Nanguneri and Vikravandi Assembly by-polls? Mr. Kamal Hassan is a ‘tall leader’: how many votes did he get in the Parliamentary elections? He started a political party because he has turned old and his opportunities in films have started reducing. That is his democratic right and there is nothing wrong with it. But it is not correct to simply blame others,” Mr. Palaniswami said.
