New Delhi, May 18
The Congress on Friday said the BJP will be defeated in Saturday's floor test in Karnataka and that BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa exhibited his desperation in becoming the Chief Minister after a split verdict in the state.
"Today is a historic day, we want to put things in perspective. First time a question has been raised on the role of Governor and which party can he invited according to the constitutional provisions," Congress leader and noted lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi told the media at a press conference here.
Taking a jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Rajya Sabha member said: "It is ironical and funny that people talk of frustration on the part of Congress... They talk of it while defeat stares in their own face.
"After the court said that floor test is going to be held tomorrow (Saturday), Yeddyurappa's counsel said 15 days is not good enough, then they made 10 days, then they pressed for seven days and finally they said please don't have this before Monday."
"Well, message is clear in that. Why Monday? You wrote a letter on 15th and today is 18th, and you need further time till Monday, to do what you could not do for last three days. This shows their fear," the Congress leader said.
Singhvi also said that Yeddyurappa's counsel wanted voting by secret ballot during the floor test on Saturday but the apex court rejected their demand.
"BJP wanted that vote of confidence should be done via secret ballot. But Supreme Court has written in its order that there shall be no secret ballot in proving vote of confidence tomorrow.
"Answer to both questions of 15 days' time and secret ballot is the same man whose name starts with 'M' in english," he said referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi without taking his name.
Slamming Yeddyurappa, Singhvi said: "I have never seen the kind of desperation that Yeddyurappa has shown to become the CM of Karnataka."
Congress murdering mandate in Karnataka: BJP
The BJP on Friday hit out at the Congress for "rejoicing" the Supreme Court's verdict over Karnataka, saying those who had sought to impeach the Chief Justice of India are now "murdering the mandate" after being rejected by the people of state.
"The Congress has welcomed the Supreme Court's decision. Some days back they had questioned the Supreme Court verdict in the case of judge Loya's death. They even tried to impeach the CJI.
"Then the Congress President (Rahul Gandhi) also attacked the court. Now they have welcomed the court's verdict. This kind of selectionism doesn't work in democracy," BJP Spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters here at a press conference.
"This is the Constitution of India, Rahulji. This can't be flexible according to your whicms and fancies," he said.
The BJP leader said the Congress was rejoicing the court verdict despite being rejected by the people of Karnataka. "They were reduced to 78 from 122. They are murdering the mandate. In democracy, there is noting above the (people's) mandate and the Congress is trying to kill that mandate," he said.
Patra said both "prayers" of the Congress to the apex court to quash Governor's decision to invite the BJP to form government and to invite the Congress-JD-S instead, have been rejected. "Yet the Congress is claiming victory, like Rahul Gandhi had claimed 'moral victory' after defeat in Gujarat elections."
Taking a jibe at Rahul Gandhi for likening India's judiciary to Pakistan, Patra asked can he be compared with Bilawal Bhutto of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) just because both are dynasts in politics.
"You are not Bilawal Bhutto and the Congress is not PPP and you compare India's judiciary with Pakistan. You are drawing the comparision because your party has been reduced only to PPP (Punjab, Pudduchery and Parivar). And in this frustration, you are drawing parallel to Pakistan's judiciary with India," he said.
Patra's attack came hours after the Congress hailed the Supreme Court's directive to hold an early floor test in Karnataka instead of the 15 days earlier granted to Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa by Governor Vajubhai R. Vala.
Asked about the Congress allegation that one of their MLAs has been abducted, Patra hit back, saying ever since India got Independence, the Congress always has tried to "abduct democracy" in India.
"We had seen how emergency was imposed. We had seen as to how judges were superceded during the Emergency. We had seen the attempts of the Congress to form a committed judiciary.
"All these years, ruling over India was their entitlement and they were supposed to be princes and princesses of the country. For the first time they have realaised that people are everything in democracy. The Congress must know how to respect democracy," he said
Citing media reports, the BJP leader also accused that fearing another Goa, the Congress had drafted a Supreme Court plea for the largest party to be invited first but was changed later when they felt the party was not going to form its government alone.
"It seems they knew that the Congress will be the single-largest party and they had this doubt that the BJP and the JD-S would come together to form the government," he said.
He also said that the Congress could not produce in the Supreme Court any acknowledgement or proof of letter signed by their MLAs extending support to the Congress-JD-S alliance that was sent to the Governor of Karnataka.
In the May 12 Assembly election in 222 constituencies, the BJP won 104 seats, the Congress 78 and the JD-S 37, with the latter two striking a post-poll alliance.
