PM Modi should assure nation he won't allow 'buying MLAs off': Cong on floor test

Ahead of the crucial floor test in the Karnataka assembly, the Congress today asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to assure the country that he would not encourage buying MLAs off as the BJP seeks to prove majority, and welcomed the assurance of live telecast of House proceedings.

The Congress said that every alleged attempt of the BJP to derail the vote of confidence stood defeated and asserted the "democracy will win".

Addressing reporters here, senior Congress leaders Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who represented the Congress-JD(S) combine in the Supreme Court, said they did not press for the replacement of pro tem speaker K G Bopaiah after the assurance of live broadcast of the proceedings.

The Congress and the JD(S) had approached the apex court raising questions over the appointment of Bopaiah as the temporary speaker, contending he was not the senior most legislator.

It also maintained that Bopaiah had a "tainted past" as he as the then speaker had tried to save a previous government of Yeddyurappa, who faced corruption charges, in 2011.

Singhvi said whosoever wins or loses in the trust vote, it is the "democracy which will win".

Sibal also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying "He (Modi) should also say 'na kharidunga, na kharidane dunga' (will neither buy off, nor let anyone be bought over)."
Singhvi said, "We wanted safeguards to be in place on our apprehension. In a way most of our demands have been met."