BJP govt in Maha fell like 'house of cards': Cong

The Devendra Fadnavis-led government in Maharashtra was based on "defections" and fell like a "house of cards", the Congress said on Tuesday and asked Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari to invite its alliance with the Shiv Sena and the NCP to form the government in the state.

The Congress also demanded that both Fadnavis and NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who assured the party's support to the BJP, should apologise to the people of the state.

In a series of tweets, Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala posed questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, asking "why such a spectacle of democracy was created in Maharashtra?"

Minutes after Devendra Fadnavis' announcement that he is resigning, former Maharashtra chief minister and Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan said he has requested Koshiyari to accept it and invite the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance led by Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray to form the government.

Claiming that the lack of numbers of those "who kidnapped the people's mandate" stands exposed with the developments, Surjewala said,"it is now clear that 'Chanakyaniti' (political strategy) in BJP means abduction of democracy."

"Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar should apologise to the people of Maharashtra. Their government was based on lies and defections and fell like a house of cards," he said.

Asserting that there is a need to ensure accountability of Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Shah, Surjewala also asked why was the governor used as a puppet and why did they hurt the stature of the President.

"Why was the country's cabinet paralysed? Why was the naked dance of defections and horse-trading? Why was a minority government formed drama done of having a majority for so long? Why corruption cases were taken back? Why was the Constitution torn into shreds?" Surjwala asked.

At a press conference, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said the turn of events in Maharashtra has also put the role of the President under scanner but did not elaborate.

"We hope the governor will fulfill his duties and invite 'Maha Vikas Aghadi' of Sena-NCP-Congress to form a stable government in Maharashtra... The governor sheds his RSS-BJP cloak," Tewari said.

"The damage they (BJP) has done to our Constitution and the highest offices in the country, for their sole bid to grab power illegally, will take decades to heal," said senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, who was at the center of the Congress-NCP-Sena negotiations for an alliance.

Fadnavis resigned as chief minister ahead of the Tuesday's floor test as ordered by the Supreme Court, admitting that BJP does not have the majority shortly after his deputy Ajit Pawar quit.

With Fadnavis resigning, nearly 80 hours after he was sworn in by Koshyari in a hush-hush ceremony for a second term after stunning midnight developments, the Shiv Sena said Thackeray will be the new chief minister heading a post-poll alliance.