BJP will step in if govt suffers self-inflicted fall: Former CM

FSea-ear chief government minister DV Sadananda Gowda on wed said the tell BJP building block would act according to instructions from national party leadership if the state Congress government, which he said had brought instability upon itself, were to fall.He added that if the party high command decided there should be no mid-term elections, the BJP would attempt to form a government.“If the government in the state falls due to the self-inflicted crime of the Congress, we will implement the orders given by our national leadership,” he said. Describing the party as a “sinking ship”, Gowda noted that the party governed only three states in the country, out of which two were small.Meanwhile, leader of opposition in the assembly R Ashoka on Wednesday intensified his attack on the ruling party.“The Congress high command should prove that it is not weak by immediately announcing who will be the chief minister in the state,” he said.He added that the BJP and the JD(S) would raise issues relating to north Karnataka, irrigation, and the closure of schools during the session. According to him, the opposition has prepared a resolution on the problems of north Karnataka for discussion on the first day. “In the past, discussions on the issues of North Karnataka would only start in the last days and the government would give a cursory answer. This time it will not be allowed,” he said.He also stated that the government’s political standing had weakened beyond recovery. “The Congress is dead in the state now, and the CM is now doing the work of carrying its coffin. The only question of changing the CM is who will carry the coffin next. Right now, they are just looking for a person who will take the lead,” he said. He added that even if the Congress were to invite the BJP to form a government, “the BJP will not accept it.”On the state of agriculture, he said farmers lost their second crop due to the failure to install a crest gate at the Tungabhadra dam. He said the party’s primary demand was a compensation of ₹25,000 per acre for affected farmers. He added that the BJP was also raising issues such as support prices for maize and sugarcane across 29 taluks and said there was no confusion within the party on these demandsAshoka also questioned the position of Shivakumar within his community. “When was D.K. Shivakumar a Vokkaliga leader? He was the one who called the Kukkar Bombs brother. If it weren’t for that, he would have called us brothers. He is only a brother to Sabari and not to us. Therefore, we do not accept him as a Vokkaliga leader,” he said.Reacting to Ashoka’s comments, Shivakumar said, ““When have I said that I am a Vokkaliga leader? I am a Congress leader born as a Vokkaliga. Even if we leave caste and religion, they won’t leave us. Ashoka is wearing a badge of Vokkaliga leader.”Dismissing the opposition’s larger criticism, he added, “There is no need for BJP and JDS leaders to publicly talk about our party matters, let them mind their party affairs. My party will take care of my interest, I don’t need people from other parties to talk on my behalf. I am a pure Congressman.”.