DHAKA: Catalan president Carles Puigdemont said the region will not accept Madrid’s plan for direct rule, reports BBC.

He described it as the worst attack on Catalonia's institutions since General Franco's 1939-1975 dictatorship, under which regional autonomy was dissolved.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's plans include the removal of Catalonia's leaders and curbs on its parliament.

An independence referendum went ahead on October 1, despite being banned by Spain's Constitutional Court.

Puigdemont said the Spanish government was acting against the democratic will of Catalans after refusing all offers of dialogue.

He said he would call for a session of the Catalan parliament to debate a response to Rajoy's plans.

Addressing European citizens in English, he added that the EU's founding values were "at risk" in Catalonia.

Barcelona police said 450,000 people protested in the regional capital earlier on Saturday (October 21), with many chanting "freedom" and "independence".

Rajoy said he was triggering Article 155 of the constitution, which allows for direct rule to be imposed in a crisis on any of the country's autonomous regions.

Speaking after an emergency cabinet meeting, ajoy stopped short of dissolving the region's parliament but put forward plans for elections.

He insisted the measures would not mean Catalan self-government itself was being suspended. Instead, he said, the plan was to remove those people who had "taken self-government outside the law and the constitution".

The measures, which are supported by opposition parties, must now be approved by the Senate in the next few days.

Reports say Spain's interior ministry is preparing to take control of Catalonia's Mossos d'Esquadra police force and remove its commander.

The government is also considering taking control of Catalonia's public broadcaster TV3, El País newspaper reports (in Spanish).

BDST: 1528 HRS, OCT 22, 2017
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