Mumbai, March 24: Maharashtra's opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) exploded in fury on Thursday over the action against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who has been disqualified from his Lok Sabha seat while the ruling Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party strongly supported the move.

Shiv Sena-UBT President and former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray called it "a sheer murder of democracy" and said now "it's a crime to call even a thief a thief" in the country. Nationalist Congress Party's Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar flayed the move and said "this has put democracy in peril". Rahul Gandhi Disqualification: Jairam Ramesh Says Indian Democracy ‘Om Shanti’ After Congress Leader Disqualified From Parliament in ‘Modi Surname Remarks’ Case.

State Congress President Nana Patole demanded to know "if you don't call a 'chor' (thief) as a 'chor', then should he be called a 'daaku' (dacoit)" and said that democracy is being trampled with the help of all agencies. Rahul Gandhi Disqualified From Lok Sabha; Congress Says Will Fight ‘Legally and Politically’, BJP Terms Action ‘Lawful’.

"Gandhi is being punished for exposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government which is only working for the corrupt people like Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya, who have looted thousands of crores of public money, and he is not being allowed to speak in the parliament," he said.

Uddhav Thackeray added: "The thieves and scamsters are running around freely while Rahul Gandhi has been punished. This is a blatant murder of democracy. All institutions are under pressure. It spells the beginning of the end of autocracy, and the fight needs a new direction."

Commenting on the developments, NCP President Sharad Pawar had cited on Thursday the example of his party's Lakshwadeep MP Mohammed Faizal's matter and said that the Surat court judgement on Rahul Gandhi underscores the point

"I deplore this new trend in our political landscape which should concern everyone in today's scenario. I express my serious concerns at the attempt to curtail fundamental rights, freedom of speech, and democratic expressions in the country. The repeated attempts to suppress the voices of political parties, leaders and citizens of India is a matter of grave concern," said Pawar.

Congress Legislative Party Leader Balasaheb Thorat said the LS decision is like "killing" democracy, but now Gandhi will emerge like Indira Gandhi, and will vanquish the BJP to lead the country.

Sena-UBT leader Aditya Thackeray said that the Constitution and democracy is being finished off and those who speak the truth are being targeted, and its not about Gandhi alone but it is against the entire democratic foundation.

Other state Opposition leaders like Samajwadi Party President Abu Asim Azmi, Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan, Jayant Patil, Ajay Chaudhary, also slammed the move and later staged a black-ribbon demonstration outside the legislature.

On the other hand, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde attacked Gandhi and warned that "no attack against PM Modi will be tolerated", and even asked the MVA on what grounds were they calling him a "gaddar" and running a "Khokha" government. Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis chided the Opposition MVA for calling even the CM Shinde a "thief" and said this was not right in a democracy.

State BJP leaders like Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, Ashish Shelar and others have slammed Gandhi for his unbridled utterances for which he is now paying, and said that the law is equal for all in a democracy.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 24, 2023 09:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).