Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], May 19 (ANI): Following the resignation of B.S. Yeddyurappa, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Rajeev claimed that the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) were making "obvious attempts to hijack the people's mandate."
"Obvious attempts were being made by the Congress and JD(S) to hijack the people's mandate, which was clearly in favour of the BJP. Therefore, Mr. Yeddyurappa decided to take the honourable way and I salute him for this. It is now up to the people to show them [Congress-JD(S)] the door," he told ANI.
Rajeev further alleged that MLAs of the Congress and JD(S) were lodged in various places on grounds of not being able to take an independent decision.
"The Congress used an opportunistic alliance to enter through the back door. They (Congress and JDS) then put their MLAs away in Hyderabad and Kochi as they could not trust them to take an independent decision. So Yeddyurappa decided that there was no point in the floor test if he could not appeal to the MLAs, and therefore decided to step down," he added.
The BJP's chief ministerial candidate for the recently-concluded Karnataka assembly polls announced that he would step down, two days after he was sworn in.
However, Yeddyurappa in his speech inside the Vidhana Soudha said he will fight for the rights of the people of Karnataka till his last breath, even if he did not get the required mandate.
On Friday, the Supreme Court while hearing a petition of the Congress-JD(S) alliance reduced the 15-day original time given by Governor Vala to the BJP to prove its majority in the house and asked the party to hold the trust vote on Saturday at 4 p.m.
The top court on Saturday quashed the Congress-JD (S) petition to remove K.A. Bopaiah as pro-tem speaker ahead of the floor test and appoint the senior most legislator R.V. Deshmukh in his place.
The apex court also ordered a live broadcast of the floor test to ensure transparency of proceedings. (ANI)
This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI