BARCELONA, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- President of the Catalan regional government, Carles Puigdemont, said on Saturday he called on the Catalan parliament to meet and discuss the measures announced by the Spanish central government.
Puigdemont said the measures announced by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy were "the worst attack" against Catalan institutions since the dictatorship Franco, who ruled Spain since 1939 to 1975.
Puigdemont called on the Catalan parliament to discuss the measures and decide the steps to follow as according to him, the representatives chosen by Catalan citizens are in the Catalan parliament.
"What the Catalans have decided on polling stations, the Spanish government is suspending it at the office," he said.
Puigdemont's statement follows the announcement made by Rajoy a few hours earlier on Saturday who explained the measures to apply under the article 155 of the Spanish constitution.
Rajoy said the regional government of Catalonia would be dissolved, and their powers would be controlled by the Spanish ministries. He could also dissolve the Catalan parliament and call for elections within six months.
All these measures have to be passed by the Spanish Senate to be fully implemented.
Rajoy said he applied the article 155 after Puigdemont failed to clarify whether he had declared the independence of the region or not. Catalonia held a referendum on self-determination on Oct. 1, which had been declared illegal by the Spanish Constitutional Court.
