Cong leaders gherao governor after trust vote in Maharashtra

Congress legislators in Maharashtra disrupted Governor Vidyasagar Rao's address to the joint session of the state legislature, protesting the manner in which the 13-day-old BJP government won the trust vote on Wednesday. Congress members of Legislative Assembly shouted slogans such as ‘dadagiri nahin chalegi (no bullying tactics)," and "governor go back" as Rao began his address. Raising slogans such as ‘down with the minority government’," the Congress legislators walked out before the governor could complete his address.

Earlier, Sena legislators tried to stop the governor from entering the Vidhan Bhawan to deliver his Address, and handed over to him a memorandum complaining the ‘unconstitutional’ manner in which the vote of confidence was passed earlier in the day.

The Congress legislators including former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan squatted on the stairs of the Vidhan Bhawan building and blocked the governor's entry. Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief Manikrao Thakre said outside Vidhan Bhawan that no poll was taken during the trust vote Wednesday and it had become clear that the BJP government hadtrampled upon the governor's directives to have a vote of confidence.

The state Congress, soon after the trust vote, had sent a letter to the governor requesting him not to deliver his Address to the joint session. "The minority Bharatiya Janata Party government which has a strength of 123 MLAs when the majority mark is 145 was asked to prove majority in the House. But the motion was not put to vote. The BJP has not followed your directives and hence it is an unconstitutional government," the letter said. 

The party sought time from the governor to explain the developments in the legislative assembly andsaid if the demand was not accepted it will resort to severe agitation.