Bengaluru: Janata Dal (S) state president, H.D. Kumaraswamy, who was all ready to don the chief minister’s mantle himself in a Congress-backed government, on Thursday called the decision of the Governor to invite state BJP chief, B.S. Yeddyurappa to form the government despite his party's lack of numbers, a “murder of democracy.”
Alleging that the BJP was misusing the Governor's office to capture power in the state, Mr Kumaraswamy wanted to know if the 15 days given to Mr Yeddyurappa to prove his majority were meant for horse-trading.
“We will parade our legislators in front of Raj Bhavan and stage a protest. I have sought the cooperation of leaders of all regional parties to join hands with us to save the country,” he told reporters. As for Congress MLA, Anand Singh being approached by the BJP, he claimed it was threatening him using the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax departments as it had done with so many others in the past.
But going by sources, the Congress and JD(S) have decided to postpone shepherding their MLAs to Hyderabad or Kochi to prevent them from being poached by the BJP until Friday morning when the Supreme Court is expected to hear the case against Mr Yeddyurappa taking oath as Chief Minister.
The decision was reportedly taken on the instructions of JD(S) supremo, H.D. Deve Gowda, who pointed out that the MLAs’ presence may be required in the city if the Supreme Court ordered Mr Yeddyurappa to prove his majority on the floor of the legislature immediately or if it struck down the Governor's invitation to him to form the government.
Meeting the JD(S) MLAs at Shangrilla Hotel, where they have been lodged by the party, Mr Gowda is said to have advised them to be calm as the lawyers were optimistic about the court verdict.
Meanwhile as Congress legislators held a protest in front of the Gandhi statue, near Vidhana Soudha, Mr Gowda visited them and joined them for some time. Interestingly, it was Chamarajpet MLA, B.Z. Zameer Ahamed Khan, who had deserted the JD(S) for the Congress, who escorted Mr Gowda back to his car and made him comfortable. Later, the JD(S) leader left for Tirupati to celebrate his 85th birthday on Friday.
