New Delhi, : Amid charges and counter charges of horse trading vis-a-vis political developments in Karnataka, the BJP and the centre on Monday asserted that the ruling side has nothing to do with the ongoing resignation saga in the Congress party in the southern state.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is the Deputy Leader of the Lok Sabha, said his party has nothing to do what is strictly the “internal matter” within the Congress.
“In fact the resignation saga in Congress has been triggered by their party president Rahul Gandhi himself and toeing his line ‘ek se ek diggaj Congress neta’ (all top ranking Congress leaders) are resigning,” Mr Singh said after the issue was raised by the Congress floor leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury during Zero House.
Rahul Gandhi and his lawmaker mother Sonia Gandhi were present in the House.
In last few days at the national level too Congress general secretary Jyoiraditya Scindia (in charge Uttar Pradesh) and Milind Deora (Mumbai Congress president) also resigned.
Last week in a Twitter missive, Rahul Gandhi owning moral responsibility for the party’s electoral debacle in Lok Sabha polls quit as the party chief and has said: “It is a habit in India that the powerful cling to power, no one sacrifices power”.
“Humse koi lena dena nahi hae (We have nothing to do what is happening in your party),” remarked Rajnath Singh even as some opposition members said as the Home Minister Amit Shah should respond to the issue.
Mr Shah and his MoS colleague G. Kishan Reddy were present in the House.
“Our party does not put pressure on any other party’s lawmaker or legislator….because we are always committed to uphold the principles of parliamentary democracy,” said Mr Singh.
Raising the issue, Congress floor leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury accused the BJP of encouraging defection in the grand old party and said such political strategies in effect amount to threat the cherished principles of parliamentary democracy.
At one point of time, he even went onto say – “aap 300 seat jeeten haen, lekin aap ka pet nahi bhara (You have won more that 300 seats, but you continue to be power hungry)”.
His observation was strongly opposed by BJP members Sanjay Jaiswal and Ganesh Singh among others.
Mr Chowdhury further said: “Sir, if my house is unguarded and there are ten gold coins and ten silver coins, that does not mean a thief will come and run away with the loot”.
The BJP has 105 MLAs in the Karnataka assembly where the half-way mark is 113 and if the resignations of Congress MLAs are accepted, the JD(S)-Congress coalition could collapse.
UNI.
