New Delhi: The Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) on Saturday demanded dismissal of the BJP government in Karnataka following leak of an audio clipping in which Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa allegedly admitted that BJP president Amit Shah was behind the resignation of some rebel MLAs earlier this year. A video clip in which Yediyurappa makes the revelations has gone viral.
The Congress on Saturday alleged that the Union home minister was behind the poaching of its MLAs to sabotage the elected JD(S)-Congress government in Karnataka and demanded answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The BJP, however, said the chief minister was quoted "out of context."
The row erupted just as the BJP government has completed 100 days in office after it was sworn in on July 26 following the collapse of the Congress-JDS government with the defeat of the motion of confidence moved by by the then chief minister H D Kumaraswamy in the assembly by 99-105 votes.
In the video, Yediyurappa is heard saying rebel Congress-JD(S) MLAs, who were later disqualified, were kept in Mumbai during the final days of the coalition government under the watch of BJP president Amit Shah.
Yediyurappa also purportedly can be heard expressing anguish at a recent party meeting in Hubballi over some leaders' opposition to giving tickets to disqualified Congress-JD(S) MLAs for the December 5 bypolls to 15 assembly constituencies.
In the video, Yediyurappa has hit out at party leaders for lack of support in "saving" the BJP government and not recognising the "sacrifice" of disqualified Congress-JD(S) MLAs, because of whom they could come to power.
Yediyurappa has reportedly not challenged its authenticity and said that he was speaking to BJP workers "in the interest of the party".
The Congress urged the President of India to remove Home minister Amit Shah from the Union Cabinet based on the clipping.
The Congress leaders led by Opposition leader and former chief minister Siddaramaiah and state Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao met Governor Vajubhai Vala and submitted a memorandum to this effect.
"We met the governor and demanded that the Yediyurappa government be dismissed. We have petitioned that the same should be conveyed to the President of India and Amit Shah should be dismissed from the cabinet," Siddaramaiah told reporters after meeting Vala.
Siddaramaiah claimed in the clipping aired by news channels Yediyurappa has stated that Amit Shah had kept all the disqualified MLAs in Mumbai and engineered the defection.
"The clipping makes it very clear that BJP indulged in anti-constitutional activities. Home Minister Amit Shah was behind pulling down the government unconstitutionally, hoarding the MLAs in Mumbai by luring them.
We are not saying this but chief minister B S Yediyurappa himself has admitted it," the former chief minister alleged.
Reacting to the row, the BJP said the Chief Minister was quoted out of context.
"Nobody knows in what context the chief minister had said. He has been quoted out of context," BJP spokesperson Go Madhusudan told PTI.
Such statements hold no good in any court of law as evidence, the BJP leader added.
Reacting to the comments, Kumaraswamy, who was then chief minister, said he has decided to file a petition in court based on the contents of the video.
We already decided whatever content is there (in that shared video), that we are going to file before the court, Kumaraswamy told reporters during the meet-the-press programme organised by the Press Club of Bangalore.
Kumaraswamy said he will not demand any inquiry because he has reservations about the outcome.
Any inquiry is not going to help. Based on whatever former Central Vigilance Commissioner N Vittal has written about the functioning of investigation agencies in his book, I am convinced that nothing will happen, Kumaraswamy added.
Stating that the BJP as a party stood exposed after the video, Kumaraswamy said, Now Yediyurappa himself has spelt the truth. He admitted that his own national president (Amit Shah) took these 15 MLAs, forced them to resign from the Assembly, kept them in Mumbai for two months only to install the BJP government here.
Referring to the video, the Congress alleged that in it Yeddiyurappa claimed that the rebel MLAs, who were disqualified by the then Karnataka Speaker, will get relief from the Supreme Court and thus the party will approach the apex court with the new evidence.
Addressing a press conference, Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal said, "I think you are all aware of the latest video clipping of Karnataka Chief Minister Yeddiyurappa related to poaching of Congress and JD(S) MLAs."
He said that the Congress kept on saying that under the leadership of the Prime Minister and Shah, BJP was misusing all the government agencies like CBI, ED, IT to poach the opposition MLAs and to sabotage the Opposition-led government.
"Now it is established without the doubt with the video evidence of the Chief Minister. He has said that Shah was behind the entire management of the poaching episode.
The 15 rebel Congress-JD-S MLAs had quit from the Assembly in June and gone to Mumbai after that.
Following the resignations by the MLAs, the then Karnataka Speaker disqualified the rebel MLAs.
Subsequently, the 14-month old Congress-JD-S government failed to prove majority in Karnataka in July and collapsed.
Accusing the BJP of misusing the Supreme Court, the Congress leader said, "Now there is a proof and it is shocking that Yeddiyurappa is saying that Supreme Court might give relief to the rebel MLAs and they can contest election."
"We all know that matter is sub-judice and case is reserved for judgement on November 4. It is a matter of serious concern that a Chief Minister is saying that the verdict is in favour of defector MLAs and they can contest election. What does it mean?" he questioned.
Venugopal said that "I think the Supreme Court will take it very seriously and take action accordingly".
He also said that the Congress will approach the Supreme Court with the latest evidence.
Firing salvos at Modi, the Congress leader said, "We have questions to the Prime Minister, what is this going on? What is his response?"
He added, "To the BJP President and Home Minister, his name is being taken by his own Chief Minister, what is his reaction? We are expecting a reaction from the Home Minister."
The people of India are expecting a reply from the Prime Minister and Shah about the serious incident, Venugopal said.
He also gave the previous examples of poaching MLAs and sabotaging the elected governments in Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Uttarakhand and Karnataka.
(With inputs from agencies)