Siddaramaiah said another Congress lawmaker Pratap Gowda Patil is with them. (Fille)
A day before BS Yeddyurappa has to prove his majority on the floor of the assembly, former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has alleged that the BJP has "abducted and wrongfully confined" Congress lawmaker Anand Singh. He said the party has used the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax I-T department against the leader.
"(Congress MLA) Anand Singh is abducted and kept in wrongful confinement by the BJP people using the ED and I-T. This is what the BJP people are doing, shamelessly doing... (BJP president) Amit Shah did the same kind of manipulation in all the states. They don't know the Constitution and the law. They don't know anything other than false propaganda", Mr Siddaramaiah said.
Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said Anand Singh was in Delhi and would be with the party once he is "freed".
"He is in Delhi. He is with us. Anand Singh is (at present) in captivity. Once he is free, he will be with us. He is being held hostage, but he is in touch," he said.
On another Congress lawmaker Pratap Gowda Patil, who is also reported to be "missing", Mr Siddaramaiah said he was with party. "Pratap Gowda Patil came and signed on the paper (list of MLAs) that was submitted to the governor," he said.
Mr Siddaramaiah dismissed suggestions of any breach in the
Congress-JDS ranks, maintaining that all the lawmakers were united. The Congress had won 78 seats in Karnataka, placing second after the BJP with 104 seats. With the BJP seven short of majority, the Congress quickly tied up with the Janata Dal Secular or JDS, which won 37 seats, and claimed to have 116 seats.
"They have won 104 only. They don't have 112 seats; they don't have even one seat above 104 because two independents got elected with us. The Congress (78), JDS (37) and two independents (independent+KPJP) and BSP 1...total 118. As Kumaraswamy has won two seats it stands at 117," Mr Siddaramaiah said.
"All of us are together. We have an understanding. Despite this being reality, despite they (BJP) not asking for 15 days, the governor has given them 15 days to prove majority. What inference could one draw?" he added.
He also accused Governor Vajubhai Vala of following the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah. He alleged that had Governor Vala followed the Constitution, he would not have taken such a decision.
Targeting the PM and the BJP president, Mr Siddaramaiah said, "Narendra Modi and Amit Shah are fossils of Hitler in this country. They don't have respect for the Constitution or democracy.
The Supreme Court today ordered a floor test in Karnataka Assembly tomorrow. A three-judge bench headed by Justice A K Sikri said, "Let the House decide and the best course would be floor test."
Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala had given BJP Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa 15 days' time to prove its majority triggering allegations that it would allow the party to poach lawmakers from the Congress and the JDS.
With inputs from PTI