MVA stages walkout in Assembly over Rahul disqualification

Lashing out at the BJP-led Centre, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra staged an impromptu protest in the Vidhan Bhavan complex after Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a member of Lok Sabha even as they continued to demand action against Shiv Sena-BJP legislators for hitting posters of the Congress leader with slippers.

On the other hand, chief minister Eknath Shinde said that the insult to national icons and prime minister Narendra Modi would not be tolerated.

After staging a walkout from the Assembly, leaders of MVA lashed out at the BJP and the Narendra Modi-government claiming that it was murder of democracy and India is being pushed towards dictatorship.

Read | Cong plans pan-India 'Jan Andolan' over Rahul LS disqualification

They also feared that targeting of political opponents will continue in the days to come.

Reports of waves of protests by Congress workers also reached Mumbai from various corners of Maharashtra.

Former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, who is the head of MVA, said that calling a thief a thief has become a crime in the country. “This is the murder of democracy….all government agencies are under pressure. This is the beginning of the end of the dictatorship...the battle only needs a direction,” said Uddhav, who heads Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Ajit Pawar said that people of the country are watching the development. “You may recall people of the country did not like the Emergency imposed by (then prime minister) Indira Gandhi and a new government came in…but (after it collapsed) Indira Gandhi returned to power,” he said.

Former Congress chief ministers - Prithviraj Chavan and Ashok Chavan lashed out at the Centre. “That Rahul Gandhi would be disqualified was on expected lines. This actually shows how worried Modi is from Gandhi. This is nothing but an undeclared agency in the country. Modi is increasingly becoming unpopular because of inflation and price rise,” said Prithviraj Chavan, who is a former minister of state in PMO.

“This is low-level politics and people would never accept this,” said Ashok Chavan.

Congress Legislature Party leader Balasaheb Thorat said that Gandhi’s disqualification is like ’killing’ democracy, but now he will emerge like Indira Gandhi, and will vanquish the BJP to lead the country

Shiv Sena-UBT leader Aditya Thackeray said that the Constitution and democracy is being finished off and those who speak the truth are being targeted. “It not about Gandhi alone but it could be anyone else,” he said.