Former CM Siddaramaiah, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and JD(S) national president H D Deve Gowda share a moment in Bengaluru on Thursday | pushkar v
BENGALURU: Former Chief Minister Siddaramiah on Thursday said he was confident that BJP cannot form a government on it own. He was speaking after staging dharna in front of Mahatma Gandhi statue at Vidhana Soudha.
Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, KPCC President G Parameshwara, former ministers Ramalinga Reddy, K J George, Priyank Kharge and others too were part of the dharna.
Siddaramiah said, "Yeddyurappa may have taken the oath as CM. But at the floor of the House, it is impossible for him to prove the majority, and he will lose. And when this is the case, BSY's arrogance seems to be extreme."
On approaching the Supreme Court, Siddaramiah said that this is the best decision they have taken. "We are hoping that BJP will lose its battle here,'' he said.
Former CM and JD(S) State President H D Kumaraswamy alleged that, in 2008, they (BJP) paid `25 crore to `30 crore per MLA and made them to resign, so that they can get simple majority. "Now this tactics will not work. Our MLAs will not take BJP's looted money. No MLA from our camp will go to BJP this time. In fact, over 12 to 15 MLAs from BJP are against Yeddyurappa and are ready to resign for us," he added.
Kumaraswamy lashed out at Governor Vajubhai Vala and called him the 'worst Governor that Karnataka has ever seen'. "On one side PM Modi is talking about Swachh Bharath and on the other side he is practising dirty politics through Governor Vala. The Governor acts more like a Central government agent and is not working towards the welfare of the people of Karnataka,'' he said.
KPCC President G Parameshwara too lashed out at Vala's move. "Governor invited Yeddyurappa to form government at 10pm on Wednesday. This, he might have done after getting instructions from PM Modi. This is nothing but an attempt to kill the democracy,'' he said.
Parameshwara elected CLP leader
KPCC president G Parameshwara was on Thursday elected as Leader of Congress Legislature Party (CLP). According to a party leader, the CLP meeting was held at the resort near Bidadi where the Congress MLAs are currently staying. With that, he is likely to be the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly as the Congress is the second largest party. Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah too was present. This marks a clear shift in the Congress position on its leadership on the state, which had centered around
Siddaramaiah for last five years. It, however, is still not clear what position Siddaramaiah will be given in the party.
