Congress leader Siddaramaiah says Karnataka government is not "constitutionally or ethically formed"

Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah today said the government of the BJP in Karnataka was not "constitutionally or ethically formed" and called it "a victory of horsetrading."

Siddaramaiah, who is the leader of the Congress Legislature Party, accused the BJP of "misusing" the office of governor to form the government.

"Yediyurappa taking oath itself is against the constitution by misusing the office of the Governor though they don't have the majority," he told reporters.

Explaining the equation, he said the strength of the Assembly after the disqualification of three lawmakers was 221 and the halfway mark was 111.

However, the BJP has only 105.

Asserting that the BJP has to give the list of 111 lawmakers, Siddaramaiah underlined the fact that the names of rebel legislators camping in Mumbai cannot be given as they were from Congress and the JDS.

"This (BJP's) is not a constitutionally or ethically formed government. How will they (BJP) prove majority then? Has it got any recognition within the framework of constitution?" Siddaramaiah asked.

He said the H D Kumaraswamy-led coalition government would not have collapsed if the legislators of Congress and the JDS were not confined.

"They (BJP) confined our MLAs illegally by luring them and now they (BJP) are saying it is the victory of people. No, it is not the victory of people. It is the victory of horse-trading," Siddaramaiah said.

The former Chief Minister claimed that two rebel legislators had called him regarding their disqualification but he did not receive their calls.

Four days after the coalition government collapsed, BJP leader Yediyurappa staked claim to form the government and took oath as chief minister on Friday.