Maha political upheaval: BJP's 'washing machine' has resumed operation, say opposition parties

Opposition parties on Sunday, July 2, lashed out at the BJP after NCP leader Ajit Pawar and eight others were inducted into the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government, saying the ruling party's "washing machine" has resumed its operations and it can no longer talk about fighting corruption as it has joined hands with tainted leaders.

Ajit Pawar, who split the NCP and took oath as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, said his party decided to join the BJP-Shive Sena government for the development of the country and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.

Reacting to the development, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "Clearly the BJP's washing machine has resumed its operations. A number of new entrants into the BJP-led alliance in Maharashtra today had been facing serious corruption charges with ED, CBI and Income Tax authorities after them. Now they have all got a clean chit." The Congress will intensify its efforts to free Maharashtra from the clutches of the BJP, Ramesh asserted.

The Congress is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance that also comprises Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP.

"The oath-taking ceremony in Maharashtra was part of Operation Lotus and it has no official support of NCP. Those who took oath, it is their personal decision and not that of the NCP," Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said.

After inducting "corrupt men" as ministers, the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot talk about fighting corruption, senior TMC leader Babul Supriyo, who was earlier a minister in the Modi government and had switched from the BJP, said.

Calling the BJP "hypocrite", Supriyo, a minister in the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal, said tainted leaders under the scanner of ED for corruption have been put into a "washing machine" manufactured by the BJP to remove their stains and blemishes.

Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha leader Priyanka Chaturvedi tweeted, "Principles be damned, BJP should be the last party in the country talking about ideological alliances. They are just political opportunists wanting power at any cost. With the latest development in Maharashtra, those MLAs who were corrupt and were jailed are now being sworn in as ministers!" Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav claimed that Maharashtra has emerged as a "bigger laboratory" for the BJP after Madhya Pradesh and the saffron party will do other "experiments" in the run-up to 2024 general elections to stay in power.

"BJP does this from time to time, first they did this in Madhya Pradesh, and then in Maharashtra, but people are watching this," Yadav told reporters in Lucknow.

AAP leader Atishi said that BJP has declared openly now that all the corrupt should come to its fold and get "cleaned off their sins in its washing machine".

Congress leader Rashid Alvi said, "The BJP and PM Modi have violated the Constitution. It (Ajit Pawar joining the Maharashtra government) is the biggest joke on democracy. Rajiv Gandhi brought anti-defection law while Atal Bihari Vajpayee increased the number of MLAs (to change the party) to 2/3rd, so this is an insult to Vajpayee as well."

Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan said the Shinde government was resorting to taking help from MLAs of other parties because of its own instability.

"After the opposition parties' meeting in Patna, they (BJP) are afraid, and that's why they want to break opposition parties," said DMK leader TKS Elangovan.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut claimed it was the beginning of the process of Eknath Shinde losing his chief minister's post.

RJD leader Mritunjay Tiwari also said the BJP has engineered the defection to save its government in Maharashtra.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said no words are enough to condemn the manner in which the BJP has repeatedly undermined the popular mandate in Maharashtra.

"Not only is democracy being butchered but they are using the national anthem to provide cover for such disgraceful actions. On one hand, BJP is arresting political opponents on trumped-up corruption charges while they themselves are on an MLA purchasing spree. Hard-earned public money is being misused to quench BJP's thirst for power," she alleged.

In a swipe, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal tweeted, "I guess this is the mother of democracy that Modiji was talking about in his address to the US Congress!" "BJP doesn't believe in people's power, they only believe in politics of defections (jod-tod ki rajniti) and this time they will get a big shock," JD (U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh said.

BJP spokesperson R P Singh, however, said, "India is developing rapidly and this is happening only because of PM Modi. Ajit Pawar knows this very well and that's why he decided to join hands with us." Union Minister Ramdas Athawale said Ajit Pawar was unhappy in the Opposition for a long time.

"Ajit Pawar's decision to join the NDA is a 'dashing decision' and this is a huge setback for Sharad Pawar," he added.