The Opposition accused the Narendra Modi government of moving in haste in imposing central rule
Maharashtra, which witnessed constantly changing political equations amid hectic parleys by key parties in the past few days, was put under President’s Rule on Tuesday evening, and its Assembly in suspended animation, after Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari in a report to the Centre said the formation of a stable government was impossible in the current situation.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress, however, said they were open to an alliance with the Shiv Sena, but needed “clarity” on issues and would like to come up with a common minimum programme. The two allies also said Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had contacted them for the first time on Sunday.
Thackeray later in the evening addressed a press conference and reiterated how parties of different ideological persuasions needed more time to discuss issues. He said it was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the single-largest party in the state with 105 seats, that had not lived up to its promise, forcing the Shiv Sena to contact the Congress and the NCP. He said now that the state was under central rule, the three parties had six months to give shape to the next government.
According to sources, Thackeray told his party legislators in a closed-door meeting that the BJP was still trying to reach out and a possible BJP-Sena government was a possibility. When asked about this, Thackeray evaded a direct reply. On ideological differences with the Congress-NCP, he said he was collecting information on how the BJP had alliances with the Peoples Democratic Party in Jammu and Kashmir, with the Janata Dal (United) and Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party in Bihar, and with the N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh, none of whom espoused the Hindutva ideology.
