Election laws should be modified to ban party hopping by legislators under deceptive methods like ‘Operation Kamala’ being indulged in Karnataka by the BJP, leader of the opposition in the State Legislative Council Motamma said in Mysore today.
Electoral law should be tightened to prevent such resignations by legislators who change their loyalty from one political party to the other. By-elections should take place only in case of death of a legislator and not otherwise, she advocated.
Condemning ‘Operation Lotus’ by the BJP in the state, the Congress leader said no one desired such undemocratic practices. The forced resignation of MLAs resulted in frequent by-elections in the state costing both the state exchequer and the people big sums of money.
“The BJP government has come as a curse to the state. While it is shielding the corrupt, people are suffering as their welfare is neglected,” she said addressing a press conference.
“Right from the day it came to power, the ruling party has been facing dissidence. Dissident activity is roasting the BJP in the state. Instead of solving the crisis, the BJP high command is curbing the views and feelings of the dissidents.”
“Frustrated legislators of the party are repeatedly raising the banner of dissidence. Every time dissident activity surfaces, Yeddyurappa rushes to Delhi to convince party leaders that everything is fine with his government. Instead of resolving the crisis in the state party, the inept BJP High Command is shielding Yeddyurappa time and again,” the Congress leader criticised.
Dubbing the BJP high command as “low command” or “no command”, she said the support it is extending to the chief minister saying that his government was clean and there was no dissident activity in the state made one believe that probably it too might have some share in the “corrupt” deals of the Yeddyurappa government.
The Yeddyurappa-led government is steeped in corruption and repeatedly facing internal squabbles while its insipid high command has failed to stem the rot in Karnataka, she charged.
Criticising the chief minister for repeatedly blaming the Opposition parties for the party’s troubles, Motamma said the Opposition had not come in the way people’s welfare programmes. Congress was only demanding to know what happened to the promises BJP made at the time of elections.
“It had promised rice at Rs 2 a kg, free power to farmers and houses for the flood-hit in North Karnataka within a year. The Congress wants to know what happened to these poll promises. Yeddyurappa had announced that houses would be ready within one year for rehabilitating the flood victims. Now he is saying it takes three years,” she charged accusing the ruling party of ignoring the welfare of the people in the state.
The Congress leader expressed confidence of her party victory in all the three forthcoming by-elections to the State Assembly, where the seats fell vacant after ‘operation lotus’ by the state BJP.
