Leaders of Karnataka Congress and Janatha Dal (Secular) stage a dharna in front of the Gandhi Statue against the Karnataka Governor’s order to invite BJP Leader, BS Yediyurappa, to take oath as the new Chief Minister of the state in Bangalore on May 17. (AFP Photo)
PANAJI/PATNA, MAY 17 (IANS): The Congress in Goa and the RJD in Bihar on Thursday said they would ask the governors of their states to give them a chance to form the government the same way that BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa was sworn-in in Karnataka as the leader of the single largest party.
"If the Karnataka Governor can invite the Bharatiya Janata Party, the single largest party, to form the government, why can't the Goa Governor invite the Congress, the single largest party in Goa, to form the government here? Why two criteria for two states? Why double standards? Congress state President Girish Chodankar told reporters.
Chodankar demanded that Governor Mridula Sinha should follow in the footsteps of her Karnataka counterpart Vajubhai Vala and invite the Congress, which emerged as the single largest party in the Assembly after the 2017 Assembly elections, to form the government in the coastal state.
"We request Her Excellency to follow big brother Karnataka Governor and invite the Congress to form the Goa government to rectify a wrong."
The BJP won 13 seats in the 2017 Assembly elections, compared with 17 of the Congress.
However, after swift political manoeuvering, the BJP staked claim to power with two regional parties and independent MLAs and formed a coalition government after getting the nod from Sinha.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav too wanted Bihar Governor Satyapal Malik to invite his party to form the government as the leader of the single largest party in the state Assembly.
"I will meet the Governor along with our MLAs on Friday as we are the single largest party in Bihar," Tejashwi Yadav, who is also the Opposition leader in the Bihar Assembly, said.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader said that if the Bharatiya Janata Party was invited by the Karnataka Governor to form the government on the grounds that it was the single largest party, then the RJD also had the right to form the government.
"We will request the Bihar Governor to dismiss the state government and invite the RJD to form the government," he said.
In Karnataka, BJP's B.S. Yeddyurappa was sworn in as Chief Minister by Governor Vala, despite protests from the Congress and Janata Dal-Secular, which formed a post-poll coalition to bid for power.
The combine of the Congress and the JD-S too had staked its claim to forming a government by citing the support of 117 MLAs. The majority mark in the Karnataka assembly is 112 seats. The BJP has 104.
Congress to push for government formation in Manipur, Meghalaya
Morung Express News
Dimapur | May 17
BJP's argument to justify its government in Karnataka has triggered a domino effect in other states including that in the North East.
Citing Karnataka example, former Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and his Meghalaya counterpart Mukul Sangma have sought time from respective Governors of the state for a meeting tomorrow (May 18) to stake claim to reform the government as they were the single-largest parties in last state assembly polls, a ANI report stated.
“We are seeking Governor's appointment. We will definitely rush to the Raj Bhawan on Friday and stake claim to form government,” said Okram Ibobi Singh, former chief minister of Manipur, according to the ANI report. “We are the single largest party in the 60-member Manipur Assembly. The Governor should have invited us to form the government. We should get the opportunity now,” Singh said.
Former Meghalaya CM Mukul Sangma has also sought time from the Governor of the state for a meeting on Friday. It is unclear whether the Raj Bhavan has granted him an appointment yet.
In Meghalaya, the National People's Party had bagged 19 seats in the 60 member House and the Congress had secured 21 seats but was denied the chance to form the government in February.
In Manipur, the Congress had secured 28 seats while the BJP got just 21 in the March 2017 elections.
Even NPF had the single
largest party, TR reminds
In Nagaland, Leader of NPF Legislature Party, TR Zeliang also commented on the turn of events after the recently held Karnataka Assembly elections while wondering as to how different states in India could follow different Constitution of the same country. “Should the law of the country be distorted according to the convenience and advantage of a certain political Party,” he questioned, according to a press release issued by the Information & Publicity Wing, Office of the Leader of the Opposition.
While Zeliang did not express intention of following suit the other states in staking claim to form the government, he said that while the NPF, with 26 members, was the single largest party in the recently concluded Assembly Election in Nagaland, it was not accorded the same privilege which the BJP Party led by BS Yeddyurappa was given in Karnataka on account of being the single largest Party.
“Why NPF-led Government was not allowed to be formed in Nagaland then,” he further quizzed.
Zeliang, who was addressing public gathering at Wokha Town and Longmisa Village as part of the campaign tour for the upcoming Lok Sabha bye-elections also made scathing attacks against the PDA government for the hypocritical acts practiced in just two months of being in power.
