Amid speculation that some BJP legislators would join the Congress and Congress leaders also dropping hints about this, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday charged that the Congress leaders are saying so just to divert the attention of people from its "failures".
The minister said that the Congress failed in saving Cauvery river water for Karnataka, in releasing funds for road development and other infrastructure-related works, in acting on "serious corruption charges" and in supplying sufficient electricity to people.
"Our MLAs are mature, and nobody will go to Congress. I have spoken to State BJP president and Basavaraj Bomai, while Muniratna, S T Somashekhar, Shivaram Hebbar and others have already clarified. In fact, there is a huge discontent among Congress MLAs for not getting funds for development works and other issues. That discontent will explode after the Lok Sabha elections," Joshi said.
"Anybody quitting BJP and joining Congress has not come to my notice, but we are not astrologers to predict the future," he added when asked about the possibility of BJP leaders quitting the party in coming days.
Charging that the Congress government in the state is releasing Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu just to save its alliance at the national-level, Joshi said the government should have taken a bold decision to save Cauvery water for Karnataka in the wake of scanty rainfall. This government has also started power cut, to prevent grants for ESCOMs, he alleged.
"There were serious corruption charges against minister Chaluvarayaswamy, but he has not resigned. Meanwhile, contractors who complained about corruption were also pressurised by the government to change their stand," he added.
He also asked the Congress government not to create "controversy" or "confusion" regarding Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations at Idgah Maidan in Hubballi this time. "Ganesh Chaturthi at the Maidan was held last year. As it is a public place, the civic body will take a suitable decision," he said.
"Ghamandiya Ghatbandhan"
Terming I.N.D.I.A alliance "Ghamandiya Ghatbandhan", Joshi said the Opposition parties did not discuss about important bills in the Parliament session, but tried to create chaos due to their "arrogance", and to divert attention from the Congress' own "faults" in Manipur and other issues in the past.
"Regarding the administration of Delhi which is not a state but a Union Territory with special status, we have just gave turned the rules, which had come during the Congress regime itself, into laws," he claimed.
"Under the leadership of Narendra Modi, we will win more than 320 seats in Lok Sabha polls, while we will get over 20 seats from Karnataka," Joshi claimed, adding that he would contest from Dharwad constituency itself, and not from anywhere else.
He also said leader of opposition in the Assembly would be selected shortly, saying "BJP's central leaders are not angry with leaders here".
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels | Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks