The Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular), partners in the outgoing government, on Friday launched an offensive against B.S. Yediyurappa taking oath as Chief Minister and termed it “unconstitutional”.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dinesh Gundu Rao, the former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and JD(S) leaders criticised the Governor’s decision to allow the BJP to form the government.
Congress offensive
Soon after the BJP announced that Mr. Yediyurappa will take oath on Friday evening, the Karnataka Congress unit tweeted: “Corruption icon and former jailbird @BSYBJP has used his excellent horse-trading skills to subvert democracy and come to power. People of Karnataka remember his disastrous tenure as CM between 2008 and 2011, which ended with BSY in jail. History is all set to repeat again.”
Terming the Governor’s decision “anti-democratic”, the JD(S) said in a tweet: #HorseTradingParty of India has claimed stake to form the govt. even though they don’t meet the magic number 112. Today marks one of the darkest days in the history of Karnataka. Democracy is dying a slow death because of the BJP’s unconstitutional practices. #HorseTraderYeddyurappa.
In another tweet, the party said, “The strength of the House is 222 (after the disqualification of three MLAs) and the half-way mark is 112. However, Mr. Yediyurappa approached the Governor saying that he has 105 MLAs with him. The Governor’s decision permitting him to form the government without any second thoughts is anti-democnratic”.
Addressing presspersons, senior Congress leader V.S. Ugrappa termed the move as “unconstitutional”. “By allowing him to be sworn in when it is clear that the BJP has no support of 112 MLAs in the House, the Governor has willingly allowed horse-trading of MLAs — the only way how Mr. Yediyurappa can win the trust vote,” he argued.
“The mandate of the people is not for the BJP; it was for the coalition government of the Congress and the JD(S). The Governor has set a bad precedent by doing this,” he said, and added that it will make the ground more fertile for horse-trading.
“Till the time the resignations of the rebels get accepted or they get disqualified, they are legislators of the Congress and the JD(S). The BJP has spent crores to buy our MLAs. The Governor has not taken note of this and that is disappointing,” he said, and alleged that the Governor had become a party to the conspiracy.
Strategy discussion
Earlier in the day, several party leaders called on Mr. Siddaramaiah at his residence and held discussions about their strategy. Former Ministers U.T. Khader, Ramalinga Reddy, B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan, and Shivaraj Tangadagi held discussions with Mr. Siddaramaiah.
Meanwhile, JD(S) national president H.D. Deve Gowda said he would not comment on the BJP’s numbers as of now. “There is no problem in [Mr. Yediyurappa] getting sworn in now. But the party will soon have to prove its majority. The Finance Bill also has to be tabled by July 31,” he said.
