PM Modi, Maharastra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan during a function near Mumbai on Aug 16, 2014
A day after Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda refused to share stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan followed suit. Mr Chavan will skip a function today to inaugurate the Nagpur metro, which Mr Modi will be attending.
(Nagpur Metro Gets Cabinet Nod)The decisions of the two chief ministers of two Congress-ruled poll-bound states are based on humiliating experiences of being heckled by crowds at public functions in Mr Modi's presence.
"I have taken a decision on the basis of a previous visit of the Prime Minister," said Mr Chavan, who had been booed during two functions on August 16 - in Raigad and Solapur.
"The Prime Minister's functions in the Congress-ruled states are hurting the federal structure," Mr Chavan added. "Yesterday, Hooda, too, took a similar decision. What happened in Solapur was politically motivated."
Calling the incident an "undignified development," the Maharashtra Congress said it proved the BJP had no respect for the Opposition.
"It is leading to suspicions that the Prime Minister is adopting a dictatorial attitude. Never before in this country has a chief minister been openly heckled in an official government function," state Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant told Indo-Asian News Service.
The ruling Congress-NCP combine in Maharashtra is facing strong anti-incumbency. The assembly polls are to be held in the state later this year.
Earlier this week, Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, too, had been heckled at a function where he was sharing stage with the Prime Minister.
He had been deeply embarrassed when the gathering booed him and shouted slogans as he got up to make his speech. He was forced to rush through the prepared text while Mr Modi urged the crowd to remain calm.
(I Will Never Share Stage With PM Modi Again, Says Haryana Chief Minister Hooda)