Yechury terms imposition of President's Rule in Maharashtra 'butchery' of Constitution

CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Tuesday dubbed the imposition of President's Rule in Maharashtra as "butchery" of the Consitution and alleged that the step is a brazen effort to try and "manufacture" a majority for BJP to form the government in the state.

"In Maharashtra, the Governor had given time till 8:30 pm today to NCP to prove to him that they can command a majority. But before that deadline expired, he sends a recommendation to the Centre saying that no government formation is possible and so President's Rule should be imposed. You yourself gave that time. This is something unacceptable," he told ANI.

He reiterated that the Supreme Court had ruled in the SR Bommai case of 1994 that the only place to prove the government's majority is on the floor of the House.

"Without going through that process, how can a governor recommend President's Rule. This is a brazen effort to try and manufacture a majority for BJP. This was done in Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur. This is blatantly a violation of our Constitution and we condemn this. I would say that this is the butchery of our Constitution," Yechury asserted.

He made the remarks as Maharashtra came under President's Rule today after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his approval to the requisite notification.

The President signed the notification following the recommendation of the Union Cabinet which acted on the report from the state Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

The Governor had recommended the imposition of President's Rule following a political stalemate over government formation in the state.