BENGALURU: The political war in Karnataka escalated last week with JDS asking the Assembly Speaker to stop alleged horse trading by the BJP, which also moved the Governor seeking action against Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy for asking people to wage a “war” against the BJP. The national party has also filed a complaint with the state DGP seeking action on the ground of sedition against Kumaraswamy, a day after he asked people to “rise in revolt” against the BJP and warned it to be restrained while talking about the Deve Gowda family, including the CM.
As both parties continued to trade charges, JDS petitioned speaker Ramesh Kumar, alleging that BJP had approached many of its MLAs and of its ruling coalition ally Congress. Ruling JDS spokesperson Ramesh Babu, in a letter to Speaker Ramesh Kumar, said attempts to “buy” democratically elected MLAs and forcing them to resign their position was a “highly deplorable act. The letter said, “As the speaker of the House, you must stop the attempts to force the MLAs from resigning owing to political influence, threat, bullying or luring them for money.”
The JDS also urged the Speaker to initiate “stringent” action against those MLAs who indulge in illegal activities of horse trading, threatening, bullying, and influencing MLAs . Countering the JDS, the BJP approached Governor Vajubhai Vala and DGP Neelamani N Raju with whom it filed a complaint of sedition against the CM, besides staging a protest against Kumaraswamy over his remarks. In their letter to the Governor, the BJP demanded that he take action to prosecute the chief minister for his statement to “wage a war”.
The letter said, “Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy in connection with the current political scenario in the state has openly said that if any attempt is made to destabilise the government, he will ask people to 'wage a war'.” In its complaint to the DGP, BJP alleged that the chief minister had violated Section 124(A) (relating to sedition) and other sections of the IPC. BJP MP Shobja Karandlaje said, “Kumaraswamy, who holds a constitutional post, has given a call for people to rise in revolt.” Talking to reporters after submitting the complaint to the DGP, she said the person who was supposed to protect the Constitution and citizens of the country was “provoking” people. “Whatever was in Kumaraswamy's mind finally came out in the form of words,” the BJP MP charged.
