Karnataka trust vote was 'manufactured': Congress

A day after the BJP government in Karnataka won the trust vote, Congress today alleged that the entire episode was scripted in Delhi and "marketed" in Bangalore.

"The Karnataka verdict was manufactured in Delhi and marketed in Bangalore by the speaker," Congress spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters here.

He alleged that the "majority was manufactured" in the state as the total strength of the Assembly was brought down.

Tewari asked whether the state government had the moral right to continue this way.

He said there could be adverse long term implications for democracy if minority governments were turned into manufactured majority, particularly in smaller states.

"The constitutional experts should seriously ponder over this," he said.

The Congress leader said the membership of 16 MLAs was "illegally" rejected and the Speaker "misused" his powers to turn a minority government into a majority.

Asked about the role of governor HR Bhardwaj and his recommendation for a president's rule, Tewari said he was not aware of the report but defended the governor.

"What could he have done given the kind of situation which arose in the state," he said.

Tewari sidestepped questions whether the Congress would demand for the imposition of President's rule in the state, saying it would wait for the verdict of the High Court on disqualification of the MLAs.