The Congress’ strength in the Assembly had plummeted from 80 to 72, he said. The Opposition parties were adamant on not discussing the scams that the government was allegedly involved in, either inside the House or outside it, Eshwarappa charged.

Taking a dig at the Congress’ Nada Rakshana rally, he said, the electorate was fed up with 60 years of Congress rule and brought BJP to power. The resentment against the Congress did not stop here. The mandate was in favour of the BJP in the subsequent Lok Sabha polls, by-polls and the recent Zilla and Taluk Panchayat elections,” Eshwarappa said.

He further said the Opposition should act as a watchdog and point out the shortcomings of the ruling party. Instead, the Opposition Leader in the Assembly, Siddaramaiah and JD(S) Floor Leader H D Revanna were dreaming of becoming the chief minister and deputy chief minister respectively, thus misleading their partymen.

When asked whether the decision to present the State budget before the Union budget was an indicator that the Assembly would be dissolved or Yeddyurappa would resign, he only said, the government intended to present a people-oriented budget.