Cong attacks BJP for 'brazen attempt' to destabilise Karnataka govt
Bengaluru, Jan 16: The Congress Wednesday slammed the BJP for its "brazen attempt" to destabilise the party's coalition government with JDS in Karnataka.
A political crisis is brewing in the state, where two Independent MLAs Tuesday withdrew support to the seven-month-old ministry amid trading of poaching charges by the ruling coalition and BJP.
The BJP's Karnataka MLAs have been camping at a resort in Haryana in an "effort to thwart any poaching attempt" by the ruling JDS-Congress coalition.
"The entire confusion has been created by the BJP. Was that really required? They did it brazenly throwing morality and ethics to the wind. It is shameful and disgusting," Karnataka Congress President Dinesh Gundu Rao said.
Blaming prime minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah for the current political crisis is Karnataka, Rao said the party under their aegis has become "anti-constitutional."
"The topic for discussion should not be the stability of our government but what BJP has reduced to under Modi and Amit Shah. The BJP today has become an anti-constitutional party.
"It is misusing the government machinery to threaten the MLAs and their rivals," he alleged.
Allaying fears over the stability of the Congress-JDS dispensation, Rao said, "All our MLAs are intact and nobody is going anywhere. They are all with us together."
The party has taken measures to address whatever grievances some people have but all the MLAs are very much in the party and nobody is going away, he added.
After two MLAs-- R Shankar and H Nagesh-- withdrew their support to the government Tuesday, rumour mill has been agog that the government's fall was imminent as many other Congress MLAs may follow suit and resign from their respective constituencies.
Despite claims that all the MLAs were with the party, Ramesh Jarkiholi and Umesh Jadhav remained incommunicado.
Congress spokesperson Subhash Agarwal said these two MLAs may not be in touch at this moment but they were very much in the party.
"Our party is stable. Those two MLAs withdrawing support is of no consequence. Numbers are in our favour and there is no threat to the government," he said.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
