Cong-JD(S) govt will fall due to internal rivalry: Rao

Senior BJP leader and party's in-charge for Karnataka P Muralidhar Rao Tuesday said the JD(S)-Congress government in the state "cannot survive" its full five-year term and will fall on its own due to internal conflicts.

Over the last few days, the ruling Congress-JDS coalition and opposition BJP have traded charges of making a renewed bid to poach MLAs.

The Congress has claimed a number of its legislators have gone "missing", while the BJP has shifted its 104 MLAs to a resort in Haryana near Delhi in an attempt to keep its flock together and thwart any poaching attempt by the ruling coalition.

Denying the reports of the BJP trying to topple the government, Rao, the party's general secretary, claimed the "problem is within the Congress", as its leader DK Shivkumar wants to lead the government.

"The problem is internal rivalry and conflicts of personal ambitions within the alliance, especially within the Congress. The problem of DK Shivakumar, who aspires to lead the government, has now become a problem of the Congress. And, this has been going for the last six months," Rao told PTI.

Terming the alliance "opportunistic and unnatural", Rao said when a party with 79 MLAs extends support to a party with less than half the number of its MLAs, the government cannot be stable.

"It is an opportunistic alliance to stop the BJP from coming to power. How can you expect a stable government, when a party with 79 MLAs extends support to a party with just 37 MLAs. This government cannot survive its full term. It is against the wishes of the people and mandate given by the people of the state," he said.

He asserted that the BJP was not trying to topple the government.

"Neither we are pulling it down nor we are supporting it. It will fall on its own. We are waiting and watching," he said.

Rubbishing reports about the BJP attempting 'Operation Lotus' to topple the coalition government in Karnataka, state party chief B S Yeddyurappa had said on Monday there was no truth in it and alleged that the Congress-JD(S) combine was trying to lure Opposition MLAs.

Operation Lotus' is a reference to the BJP's alleged bid to lure several opposition MLAs to defect to ensure stability of its then government headed by Yeddyurappa in 2008.

Chief minister H D Kumaraswamy had said he enjoyed the support of 120 MLAs and alleged that Yeddyurappa was making "futile attempts" to destabilise his government.

In the 224-member Assembly, BJP has 104 members, Congress-79, JDS 37, BSP, KPJP and Independent one each, besides Speaker. BSP, KPJP and an Independent are supporting the coalition.