P Chidambaram slams govt over Maharashtra issue, terms it assault on office of President

Congress leader P Chidambaram attacked the BJP on Wednesday over the way Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Maharashtra chief minister, saying it was an "assault" on the office of the President to wake him at 4 am 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," Chidambaram said in a tweet posted by his family on his behalf.

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

The former finance minister, who is lodged in jail in cases of corruption and money laundering, 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.

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," Karti Chidambaram said.

Fadnavis resigned as Maharashtra chief minister on Tuesday 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 supremo Uddhav Thackeray being sworn in as the BJP leader's successor on November 28.

-PTI

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