The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday said it respects the Supreme Court's direction calling for a floor test in the Maharashtra assembly on Wednesday, and expressed confidence that the party will prove its majority.
"We respect the court order. We are ready to prove majority and we will show it," Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil told reporters.
The BJP further said the floor test in Maharashtra assembly on Wednesday will establish the position of different parties in its entirety.
Its national spokesperson Nalin Kohli also rejected the contention that the Supreme Court order on the floor test on Wednesday is a "setback" to the BJP, asserting that "no judicial pronouncement on issues of the Constitution can be a setback to any political party".
Judicial orders only strengthen the Constitution, he added.
"It’s not an irony and political hypocrisy when on the one hand political parties speak about constitutional values and on the other hand express an intention to boycott parliament on the occasion of Constitutional Day," he said, attacking the Congress and other BJP rivals for boycotting the joint sitting of Parliament which is being held to mark 70 years of the adoption of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed that the floor test for Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to prove his majority in the Maharashtra assembly be conducted on Wednesday.
It also directed Governor Koshyari to ensure that all elected members of the House are sworn in on Wednesday itself.
The apex court also said that the entire proceedings have to be telecast live. Voting in the assembly shall not be on the basis of secret ballot, it said.
