Summoning entire K'taka cabinet to Delhi is insult to people's mandate: BJP

Bengaluru, Aug 3 (IANS) Former Karnataka Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai said on Thursday that the "act of summoning entire cabinet of Karnataka government to Congress headquarters in New Delhi is an insult to the mandate of people of Karnataka".

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Bommai said: "Siddaramaiah taking the entire cabinet to Delhi is unprecedented. Never in the history of Karnataka politics, a Chief Minister has taken the entire cabinet to party headquarters in New Delhi. This shows that all is not well with the Congress government in Karnataka."

"Cancellation of police transfers, and withholding their postings shows that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has no control over administration in the state," Bommai said.

High Command summoning Siddaramaiah and his cabinet to Delhi within two months of forming the government in the state shows that Siddaramaiah has grown weak, the BJP leader claimed.

"As we have seen in the Congress legislature party meeting, he (Siddaramaiah) has lost the grip and therefore the high command has intervened. Earlier, Surjewala attended the meeting of officials in Bengaluru and tried to interfere in the administration. Now, the Congress high command asking entire cabinet to come to Delhi at a time when Karnataka is facing floods, is really undemocratic," he added.

"The elected government is in place in Karnataka, if at all anything needs to be discussed, party leaders can come down to the state or call a few of the ministers to Delhi. Calling the entire cabinet to Delhi is really undemocratic and an insult to the people of Karnataka who elected this government with full majority," Bommai said.

"I want to ask him (Siddaramaiah)  what about the pride of Kannadigas now... There is no understanding between the government and officers. There is daylight robbery in the name of transfers. Even as MLAs are complaining to the CM, he is not able to do anything," he added.