Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has alleged that the ongoing session of the Maharashtra Assembly is illegal and unconstitutional. Today the Uddhav Thackeray led Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government won the trust vote in the assembly. The alliance won the support of 169 MLAs in the 288-member house.
#MahaMurderOfDemocracy !
Registered my strong protest in the Legislative Assembly against the illegal and unconstitutional way for calling this Maharashtra Assembly Session. pic.twitter.com/I7GTOnCxZt— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) November 30, 2019
Objecting to the way the proceedings took place in the assembly, Devendra Fadnavis said that it was a murder of democracy, and “one of the biggest insults of our great constitution given by our great leader Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and also against the parliamentary procedures.”
According to Fadnavis, when the assembly session was held on 27th November, it was started with ‘Vande Mataram’, and it was concluded with the national anthem. It means that the session was adjourned sine die, as according to rules the session starts with the national song and ends with the national anthem.
On 27th November, when Assembly session was held, it started with ‘Vande Mataram’ & got concluded with National Anthem. It means that session is adjourned sine die. #MahaMurderOfDemocracy pic.twitter.com/wWpkvSzQwG
— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) November 30, 2019
Therefore, to hold an assembly session for the floor test of Uddhav Thackeray government, the governor needed to summon a new session. But the message for the new session was sent to MLAs at 1 AM, and the session started without Vande Mataram. Devendra Fadnavis said that starting a session without Vande Mataram is a violation of rules. Addressing the assembly, he said, “Assembly starts with ‘Vande Matram’ and ends with national anthem when it is called. This session started without ‘’Vande Mataram’ that is the reason it’s violating the rules.”
He also questioned why they were informed about the session so late. “We were intimated last late night. Why was this done? Was it done because our MLA should not reach the assembly?” he asked.
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Fadnavis also said that the protem speaker was also changed, and this happened for the first time in the history of India. He says that the once appointed, the protem speaker continues till the election of the regular speaker. “At every step our great constitution is being insulted by this government,” he said.
Once appointed protem Speaker continues till the regular Speaker gets elected. But protem Speaker also got changed and this happened for the first time in the history of India. At every step our great constitution is being insulted by this government.
#MahaMurderOfDemocracy pic.twitter.com/TwLOZhsRR0— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) November 30, 2019
The BJP leader also said that as per procedure, the house needs to elect the speaker first and after that only the trust motion can be placed for consideration of the house, but the speaker’s election was also skipped by the government. He Fadnavis tweeted that he “strongly condemns this unconstitutional behaviour and methods,” adding the hashtag #MahaMurderOfDemocracy.
The newly elected government has denied the allegations, saying that the assembly session was held with the consent of the governor.
