Madrid, Oct 19 (IANS): Spain will start suspending Catalonia's autonomy on Saturday, after its leader threatened to declare independence, the government announced on Thursday.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's Office said the cabinet would meet to activate Article 155 of Spain's 1978 Constitution, a mechanism that strips Catalonia's self-governing institutions of their autonomy, allowing it to take over running of the region, the BBC reported.
Spain's decision comes after Catalonian leader Carles Puigdemont earlier on Thursday decided not to rescind his independence bid as per an official requirement from Madrid and instead threatened to put the topic to a vote in his region's devolved parliament.
Puigdemont announced his decision in a letter to Rajoy.