BJP questions Cong's flickering opinion on Indian judiciary

Amid the ongoing political slugfest over government formation in Karnataka, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said on Friday that Congress is changing its opinion on Supreme Court according to its own liking.

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra pointed out that the same Congress which had compared the Indian judiciary with Pakistan is now praising the Supreme Court post its direction concerning the floor test in Karnataka Assembly.

"Rahul Gandhi had shamelessly compared the Supreme Court to Pakistan the other day. The same Congress had moved an impeachment motion too. And now it has decided to restore its faith in the top court," said Patra, after Rahul tweeted that SC's order has vindicated their stand.

Referring to Congress and JD(S)' plea challenging the legitimacy of the BJP government in Karnataka, the BJP leader said the grand-old party has murdered the mandate in the state and added the Constitution cannot be altered to the whims of the Gandhis.

"Congress has murdered the mandate in Karnataka. There is nothing larger than a mandate in a democracy. The Congress's selective approach won't work. The Congress party has been exposed completely. This is the real face of Congress. They want to selectively read the Constitution of India. The Constitution cannot be altered to the whims of the Gandhis," Patra said.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court directed the BJP's Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yedduyarappa to prove the majority in the assembly at 4 pm tomorrow.

Patra also accused Congress of readying an SC plea even before the results of the Karnataka polls were declared fearing that BJP and JD(S) would form a government.

"Fearing another Goa, the Congress had drafted an SC plea for the largest party to be invited first. It seems they knew that Congress will be the single largest party and they had this doubt that BJP and JD(S) will come together to form the government, " he said.

On a related note, ahead of the tomorrow's floor test in Karnataka Assembly, all recently elected BJP MLAs will meet at the party office in Bengaluru, in the evening today.

The decision was taken after the top court heard the arguments for and against the petition filed by the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) following Governor Vala's invitation to the BJP to form the government in the state.

Though the BJP emerged as a single largest party with 104 MLAs, they are short of the halfway mark of 111 by seven MLAs. The Congress and the JD(S) have entered into a post-poll alliance and together with 115 MLAs they are staking claim to form the government.