Bengaluru, July 9: Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who has been deployed by the party high command in Karnataka to avert the fall of their coalition government in Karnataka, trained guns at the President as well as the Governor for failing to curb the alleged "horse-trading" bid by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"The entire country is anguished at the way the President at the national level and Governor at the state level are conducting themselves. The way democracy is being finished in this country," Azad said. Ghulam Nabi Azad, On Congress Rescue Mission in Karnataka, Says BJP Habitual of Choosing CMs in 'Bars'

The Congress veteran's remarks came after conducting a meeting with the party legislators in Bengaluru on Tuesday evening. At the meeting, he was accompanied by senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge.

Azad said the phenomenon witnessed in Karnataka is "not new", and has been witnessed in Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and other states where the BJP has allegedly "engineered" defections to turnover the government run by Opposition parties.

"State after state, Opposition governments are being toppled and government of India is using Governors for this. From Arunachal Pradesh to Karnataka, Governors side with defectors and help them in coming out of Congress. We appeal to the nation to rise to the occasion to save this democracy," he said.

The Congress-JD(S) government in Karnataka came under crisis after 13 legislators resigned last week, followed by the withdrawal of support to coalition regime by 2 independent MLAs on Monday.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 09, 2019 11:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).