BENGALURU: Former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday said that in the next few days, more Congress lawmakers will express their displeasure with the Siddaramaiah government.
Referring to Congress’s Raju Kage endorsing his party MLA BR Patil’s statement on corruption, Yediyurappa, while speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, said: “It’s not only Patil or Kage, there are many more legislators who will speak in public against their own government. Wait and watch.’’
Yediyurappa said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will not allow Patil to speak. He said there has been attempt to file an FIR against former Infosys director TV Mohandas Pai for allegedly speaking against the State government. “Government is trying to create another Emergency-like situation. The CM is doing it, also the Deputy CM. I am going to travel across the state, try to visit one district every week and tell people about the government’s failure,” he said.
Meanwhile, Belagavi MP and senior BJP leader Jagadish Shettar claimed that several Congress MLAs, including Kage, are prepared join the BJP. “I’m not certain whether there will be a change in leadership, but one thing is clear, the government will not survive for long. We will not engineer defections, but disillusioned Congress MLAs will join the BJP on their own. They may later label it ‘Operation Lotus,’ but the move will be entirely voluntary,” Shettar said.
The Leader of Opposition in Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy said that Congress legislator Belur Gopalakrishna has demanded the resignation of Housing Minister Zameer Ahmed. Another Congress MLA RV Deshpande had said the guarantees are dangerous.
LoP in Assembly R Ashoka, too, called for the resignation of CM Siddaramaiah. “Congress MLAs are giving ‘corruption certificates’ against their own government,” he said.