Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president Dinesh Gundu Rao on Friday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party was conspiring to getting the President’s rule imposed in Karnataka by creating an impression that there was a constitutional crisis.
Participating in a debate on the motion of confidence moved by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy in the Assembly, Mr. Rao alleged that the BJP’s main aim was to remove this government and impose the President’s rule. He alleged that everything was happening at the behest of a prominent BJP central leader. Though he mentioned the name of the leader, it was expunged from the records as BJP leaders took serious exception to it.
Pointing out that former Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee had taken nearly 10 days to complete the process with respect to trust vote, Mr. Rao wondered why the Governor and the BJP were forcing the JD(S)-Congress coalition government to complete the process of trust vote within a day.
“Your hurry clearly shows that you are not confident of retaining the rebel MLAs. Hence you are trying to force deadlines on us. Your single aim is to occupy the Chief Minister’s chair,” he taunted the BJP.
‘Right to speak’
He attributed the delay in putting the confidence motion to vote to the interest shown by 25 to 30 MLAs to participate in the debate on motion. “It is the MLAs’ right to speak on such issues, and we cannot curtail such a right as freedom of speech is one of the basic characters of democracy,” he argued.
Attacking the BJP for its silence on the allegations by the governing coalition MLA Srinivas Gowda that three BJP leaders had offered to pay him ₹5 crore to get him to their fold, he said, “What kind of an Opposition party is this?” He taunted BJP MLA C.N. Ashwath Narayan, whom Mr. Srinivasa Gowda had accused of trying to bribe him.
CM keeps BJP on tenterhooks
Mr. Kumaraswamy on Friday kept the BJP leaders on tenterhooks when he said, “Let’s see whether you will be able to form the government, or will there be President’s rule?” He made this comment during his preliminary submission on the motion of confidence.
Published - July 20, 2019 01:29 am IST
