Haveri (PTI): Former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said that the opposition BJP in the state may consider moving a no-confidence motion in the Assembly if the power tussle in the Congress continues.
The BJP leader also predicted that a 'dark horse' may enter the race in the wake of the fight for the CM post between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar.
The Haveri BJP MP said the Congress high command had proposed two to three formulas to resolve the impasse over the leadership issue.
"If the Congress party's internal tussle for the posts of chief minister and deputy chief minister continues like this, there are chances of political turmoil in the State. Though senior Congress leaders at the Centre have proposed two to three formulas to resolve the issue and neither of the leaders has agreed to any. There is information that a new formula is being prepared by keeping both of them aside. There is a possibility of a dark horse entering the race," Bommai told reporters here in Haveri.
The MP said the tug-of-war within the Congress for the top post has intensified, and the Congress high command is helpless.
"The administration in the state has completely collapsed. Farmers in the State are in distress, and development works have come to a standstill. Both leaders have taken this as a matter of prestige. If this same situation continues, there is a possibility of political instability in the State," he noted.
According to him, anything can happen in State politics.
"A horse that is not visible now may appear. The horse that is seen in the photograph will not run. Anything can happen in the State," he remarked.
When asked whether the BJP would move a no-confidence motion against the state government during the Belagavi session of the legislature, he said, "There is time till December 8. If such a situation arises, the occasion to move a no-confidence motion may come".
Responding to state Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi’s remark that horse trading is BJP’s job and not that of Congress, Bommai said, "The Congress has been involved in horse trading since 1969. At that time, Jarkiholi was not even in politics. If one looks at the history of Congress, it will be clear. Don’t they remember that D K Shivakumar had brought all the Maharashtra MLAs and kept Vilasrao Deshmukh under control?" he questioned.
Replying to a question about the state government accusing the Centre regarding the purchase of maize, he said, "Simply trying to shift the blame on the Centre is wrong. They themselves do not have money. The chief minister has ordered the purchase of 10 lakh metric tonnes. Why are they not purchasing? Why has no agency been finalised? Why has money not been released? They are trying to escape from their own responsibility."
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Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
