New Delhi, Aug 18: BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu tonight defended the cabinet decision to seek presidential reference on Election Commission's Gujarat poll order saying a "new situation" had been created by the panel to ask for Central rule in the state instead of giving a time schedule for assembly polls.
"It is a new situation which has been created by the Election Commission's order .... That is why we want to take the opinion of the Supreme Court under Article 143 of the
constitution," Naidu told reporters.
Stating that as per Article 174 there should not be a gap of more than six months after a state assembly is dissolved and a new one comes in, he said the EC had "not given a time
schedule" for holding of elections in Gujarat.
Asked whether it was Narendra Modi government which was responsible for the constitutional "crisis" as it had dissolved the assembly, he said "every state government had the right to dissolve the assembly ... It is the state government's prerogative .... It has been done by various state governments led by various parties at different times".
"We are not commenting on anyone's decision," he said, claiming that the situation in Gujarat was normal and peaceful.
He accused the opposition parties of carrying out a campaign against BJP "to tarnish its image" over the petrol pumps allotment issue as well as the journalist Shivani Bhatnagar murder case.
Bureau Report
