Sidda says no doubt about stability of Cong-JD(S) govt

MANY CONG, JDS LEADERS READY TO JOIN BJP, CLAIMS YEDDYURAPPA

Amid discontent among some of the ruling coalition members in Karnataka, state BJP President B S Yeddyurappa on Friday claimed that several leaders from both Congress and JD(S) were ready to join his party.

Addressing the BJP state executive meet here, the leader of opposition in the assembly also termed the JD(S)-Congress partnership an "unholy coalition" and the budget scheduled to be presented by it on July 5 as a "minority budget".

He asked his partymen to work towards ensuring the BJP wins 25 of the state's 28 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 national elections.

"Several Congress and JD(S) leaders are ready to join the BJP in the current political situation. I appeal to leaders to work towards strengthening the party by bringing in honest and capable people without thinking that new inductees would affect their own chances," he said.

"Those who are ready to come to the BJP, we have to go to them personally, to their houses and talk to them and bring them to the party fold and strengthen the party for Lok Sabha polls," he said.

Earlier too, when there was widespread dissatisfaction in both Congress and JD(S) following the cabinet expansion, Yeddyurappa had claimed that several "disgruntled" leaders from the ruling coalition were eager to join his party.

Yeddyurappa's recent Ahmedabad trip to meet party national president Amit Shah had fuelled speculations that several dissatisfied Congress MLAs were in touch with him and ready to switch over, which might again try its hand to form a government in the state.

However, he himself had sought to end the speculation, saying he had gone to invite Shah for Friday's state unit executive meeting.

Meanwhile, former chief minister Siddaramaiah said on Friday he was not unhappy about the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition in Karnataka as was being projected, and there was no doubt about the stability of the government.

Breaking his silence on the controversy over video leaks that purportedly showed his remarks on the fresh budget and longevity of the government, Siddaramaiah termed video-graphing of a casual talk and making it public as "unethical".

"What I have said, in what context I have said you do not know. Whoever it is, recording my casual talk with some one and making it public without knowing the context... Is it not unethical," he questioned when asked about the videos.