By IANS,
New Delhi: The Congress Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of diverting attention from the “corruption” and “lack of majority” of its government in Karnataka by demanding the removal of Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj.
Congress spokesperson Mohan Prakash said here that the BJP government in Karnataka should follow the correct process of proving its majority in the assembly.
“The BJP has made the governor an issue to divert attention from weakness, corruption and lack of numbers of its government in Karnataka. It should follow the correct procedure to prove its majority,” Prakash said.
Asked about the governor suggesting that the Yeddyurappa government take a fresh trust vote, Prakash said the state government had not followed the proper procedure in the confidence motion carried out by a trust vote Monday.
“The BJP is not confident of the numbers despite disqualification of 16 MLAs by the Speaker. They are trying to divert attention,” he said.
Asked about the state governor diluting his position from the report he sent to the central government recommending president’s rule in the state, Prakash said he was not privy to the contents of the report.
Prakash said the governor had held a press conference and had conveyed that the assembly proceedings did not conclusively establish that the government had won the trust vote.
Referring to Bhardwaj’s suggestion that the government prove its majority by Oct 14, Prakash said the BJP should follow the advice.
He said that the anti-defection law did not apply to independent legislators and Speaker K.G. Bopaiah’s decision had established a bad precedent. The speaker had disqualified 16 legislators, 11 from the BJP and five Independents. The legislators went to the high court against their disqualification even before the vote on the trust motion was cast.