Another state ‘undemocratically’ captured by BJP: Cong as Maharashtra gets new govt

Terming the Maharashtra episode “shameful for Indian democracy”, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said: “Under the Modi-Shah duo, the BJP wants to capture power at any cost, either directly or through remote control.”

The party alleged that the BJP’s prime focus since 2014 has been “to bring down elected governments in states rather than serve the public.” The offices of the Governors and Speakers, and agencies like ED and CBI are openly misused, it claimed, and added that buying MLAs has become common under BJP’s rule.

The statement said the BJP “could go to any extent to win elections – from misuse of money power to polarization and violence.” If the voters reject them, then they start hatching conspiracies to topple elected governments, it said.

The party also highlighted instances when the “BJP toppled” Congress governments in Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Bihar among others.

The Congress, in its statement, also condemned the way “BJP was destabilizing both democratically elected governments and democratically installed governments.” “This is not only an insult to democracy, but also an insult to the people, who voted against the ideology of BJP,” it said.

The party’s statement comes on a day rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde was sworn in as the chief minister of Maharashtra, while BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the Deputy CM.