HD Kumaraswamy wants snap poll, but Yeddyurappa won’t oblige

Chief minister BS Yeddyurappa on Wednesday ruled out seeking a fresh mandate.

“People have given us the mandate to rule for five years and it is the unethical politics of the power hungry president of the Janata Dal (Secular), HD Kumaraswamy, that has led to the present crisis. His efforts to destabilise the government will not succeed. We cannot go to the polls every week or month to fulfill Kumaraswamy’s wishes,” he said.

Earlier, Kumaraswamy had dared the chief minister to dissolve the legislative assembly and seek a fresh mandate instead of trying to gain majority by poaching opposition legislators.

“Poaching MLAs from opposition parties is not a good development in any democratic set-up. Yeddyurappa cannot touch our MLAs. All the 27 MLAs of the JD(S) are loyal to the party. If the chief minister is not keen on having an opposition, let him say so in public and we will all tender mass resignation,” the former chief minister said.

“Speaker KG Bopaiah is acting at the behest of chief minister. Instead of protecting opposition MLAs, he is  protecting the BJP. I am sure this government will not survive. We will not rest till we remove the corrupt government,” he said.

Kumaraswamy rejected the BJP allegations that the disqualified MLAs had been kept in captivity. He also said that he would soon release documents relating to land scams in Bangalore.