BJP Planning ‘Operation Lotus’ in Maha After Puducherry: Shiv Sena

In its party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, the Shiv Sena said that dreams of grabbing power in Maharashtra won’t come true.

The Shiv Sena on Wednesday, 24 February, alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is planning ‘Operation Lotus’ in Maharashtra to topple the government after orchestrating the fall of the Puducherry government.

(Photo: The Quint)

The Shiv Sena on Wednesday, 24 February, alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is planning ‘Operation Lotus’ in Maharashtra to topple the government after orchestrating the fall of the Puducherry government.

In the editorial ‘Agralekh’ published in the party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, the Shiv Sena said that all those weaving dreams of toppling the Maharashtra government should not think it will ever become a reality and added that former Governor Kiran Bedi was used to destabilise the Congress-DMK government in the state.

“The Assembly elections are in the next four months. The BJP could have waited till then. But they wanted to boast about usurping power there as well,” the editorial said.

“The Puducherry government has been toppled. Now in the month of March-April, ‘Operation Lotus’ will begin in Maharashtra, sources in the BJP have said. They had made similar announcements about Maharashtra even after they toppled the Madhya Pradesh government. Similar comments were also made after the Bihar elections. Now they are speaking in the backdrop of Puducherry. But the way it’s said ‘Dilli bohot dur hai’ (Delhi is far away), Maharashtra is ‘dur’ too,” the editorial said.

It further warned that while Madhya Pradesh and Puducherry had the Congress in power, Maharastra has the Shiv Sena guard it.

‘Kiran Bedi Was Used to Destabilise Puducherry’

Slamming the BJP for violating democratic and constitutional norms, the editorial said that Bedi was acting only on the orders coming from Delhi, and Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari does that too.

“Kiran Bedi, the former Governor of Puducherry, did not let the Narayanasamy government function effectively. Puducherry being a Union territory, the Governor had more power. As a result, Bedi overturned every decision taken by the Chief Minister in public interest. She wouldn’t have done it unless she had orders from Delhi. Be it the Governor of Puducherry or Maharashtra, they act upon the orders that come from Delhi,” the editorial said.

“Kiran Bedi was sidelined after being used, the same way curry leaves are sidelined once they add the necessary flavour to the food. The Maharashtra Governor must understand this too,” it added.

‘BJP’s Actions Hurting Democracy’

The editorial further alleged that while toppling governments by horse-trading is happening in the country for the past 70 years, central agencies like the CBI and the ED are being used these days to threaten MLAs and MPs for supporting the non-BJP governments in several states.

“There was a time when the Congress dominated southern India. But today, even a small UT like Puducherry is not with it. The Congress is now in power only in Punjab, Rajasthan and Chhattishagrh. The Congress is just a part of the governments in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. There are attempts to destabilise Jharkhand as well. The central agencies have been chasing CM Hemant Soren for the same reason. Such an environment is harmful for democracy,” it said.

The party further said that if anybody is weaving dreams on the lines of ‘Puducherry Conquered, Maharashtra Next,’ they should know that their dreams will never come true.

Months ahead of the elections, the V Narayanasamy-led Puducherry government fell on 22 February after losing trust vote in the Assembly. While the Congress-DMK alliance blamed the BJP, the latter refused to stake claim on the government.