Cong, JD-S tieup an unprincipled alliance': Amit Shah

New Delhi: As the Opposition parties hailed the development in Karnatka as the victory of democracy and failure of BJP’s attempt to “subvert democracy”, saffron party poll managers were calculating the long-term impact of chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa’s decision to resign from his three-day-old post on Saturday, minutes before the Supreme Court mandated floor test.

The decision, it was learnt, strengthened the BJP party’s image of taking a moral high ground and negating the “horse-trading” allegations by the Opposition against it. Even BJP president Amit Shah, when asked about the Oppositions’ allegation, said, “There is no question of buying any MLAs because we never wanted any MLAs from their party. These accusations are baseless.”

Mr Yeddyurappa had staked claim to form the government after the BJP emergest as the single largest party, but short of seven seat to attain a simple majority. He resigned without facing a floor test.  

Taking a dig at the Congress and its leadership, Mr Shah said, “The Congress has now developed a new theory under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi on how to win the battle despite losing it.”

Asserting that the BJP won the polls as it emer-ged as the single largest party, Mr Shah said the mandate was clearly against the Congress and the JD(S), who have come together post-poll to forge a “apavitra gathbandhan (unprincipled alliance”.

He said his party stood by its principle and even predicted that in one ye-ar’s time may be the state will not give even one seat to the JD(S)-Congress.

“The BJP has already won the Karnataka elections and the people of the state have clearly giv-en their mandate to get rid of Congress... We had approached the people of Karnataka with Modi government’s four years and the way the Siddara-maiah government has been exploiting the state. We have been successful in our approach and got maximum number of seats in Karnataka elections,” replied Mr Shah to the Karnataka poll result and the subsequent political development in the southern state.

Mr Shah added that the BJP has won so many states earlier ruled by the Congress, which is rejoicing about just few seats which could have given the saffron party a simple majority in Karnataka.

When asked about Mr Gandhi’s allegations that the BJP waived loans of business houses but not farmers, Mr Shah challenged the Congress president to name one such businessman whose loans was waived off or “he should accept that he misleads the people of the country”.