Maharashtra Government Illegitimate, Will Prove In Floor Test: Congress

The Congress, which approached the Supreme Court along with the Shiv Sena and the NCP over the way Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Maharashtra chief minister, today said the BJP’s “is an illegitimate government that does not have majority” and it can be proven only by a floor test.

The Supreme Court, which heard the petition of the Sena, NCP and Congress this morning, has asked the centre to produce the letters of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis claiming majority and that of the Governor inviting him to form the government tomorrow morning at 10:30. The three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, which heard the petition, also issued notices to the Centre and the Maharashtra government.

“I am thankful to the court that they heard our petition even though it was a Sunday. Tomorrow, the matter will be heard again at 10:30 am. The Fadnavis government is illegitimate. Before any horse-trading happens, the floor test should happen,” senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan told reporters after the Supreme Court hearing.

“This is an illegitimate government which does not have majority… and this can be proven only by a floor test… “When the floor test happens, it will become clear that we have enough MLAs to support us,” Congress’s Randeep Surjewala added.

In court, the Sena, NCP and the Congress had pushed for an immediate floor test and maintained that the three parties together have the majority in the 288-member house.

Countering the need for an urgent floor test, the BJP claimed that the Governor’s decision cannot be subject to a judicial review. It had also asked for more time to produce the letters, which was turned down by the court.

Yesterday morning, Devendra Fadnavis took oath as Chief Minister with a deputy, Ajit Pawar, whose Nationalist Congress Party had just hours before sealed a Shiv Sena-led alliance along with the Congress. Ajit Pawar’s uncle Sharad Pawar, the chief of the NCP, said his party is still with the Shiv Sena and its chief Uddhav Thackeray, and that Ajit Pawar had misled the Governor and handed him letters of support that had been taken for the Shiv Sena-led alliance.

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