Cong Up in Arms Against K'taka Guv; Protests Outside Rajkot Residence

New Delhi, May 18 (PTI) Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala came under severe attack from the Congress over his decision to invite the BJP to form the government in the southern state.

The Congress workers staged protests at various places across the country, including the governor's Rajkot residence in Gujarat.

Delhi Congress unit chief Ajay Maken led the party's ‘Save Democracy' demonstration at RK Puram here and accused the BJP of trying to "kill democracy" in connivance with Vala by installing a “minority” government in Karnataka by allowing the saffron party's legislature party leader B S Yeddyurappa to take oath as the chief minister.

“The BJP is throttling democracy in the country in its hunger for power,” he said.

In Gujarat, Congress workers shouted slogans against Vala outside his residence in Rajkot, terming his move as a “blot on democracy”.

“Despite being the governor of a state, Vala has acted like a BJP worker," Congress's city unit chief Rajput charged.

The police detained 30 of the party protesters in Gujarat .

Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan led the party's protest against the Karnataka governor's decision.

"Vala's decision to invite Yeddyurappa to form the government shows that he is acting under the Modi-led central government's pressure," he said.

In Himachal Pradesh, Congress workers protested outside the Raj Bhavan. A delegation led by Congress legislature party leader Mukesh Agnihotri and HPCC president Sukhvinder Singh Sukkhu met the governor and submitted a memorandum, opposing the decision of his Karnataka counterpart.

“The developments in Karnataka are of serious nature and the Congress- JD(S) alliance which has an absolute majority has been ignored. The BJP which failed to win a majority was invited to form the government, throwing all the democratic norms to the wind," the memorandum read.

Similarly, Congress' Uttarakhand unit chief Pritam Singh led the party's protest in Dehradun and handed over a memorandum addressed to President Ram Nath Kovind to the district magistrate.

Addressing the party men during the protest, Singh alleged that the BJP was "murdering democracy using money and muscle power", and that Karnataka was the latest example of it.

The BJP had emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats in the recently held Karnataka Assembly elections, followed by the Congress with 78 seats, the JD(S) with 37 seats, and three seats had gone to others in the 224-member House.

The elections were held for 222 seats.

The majority mark is 112 seats and the post-poll alliance strength of the Congress-JD(S) combine, which claims to have 117 MLAs, has alleged foul play in the Karnataka governor inviting the BJP to form the government.

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