Modi misused ED to poach Anand Singh: Kumaraswamy

Soon after BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa was sworn in as the chief minister, JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy charged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was misusing constitutional institutions to target the JD(S) and Congress MLA elects.

Speaking to reporters outside Vidhana Soudha on Thursday morning, Kumaraswamy said that Modi had misused the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to "threaten" and "poach" Vijayanagara Congress MLA elect Anand Singh.

Kumaraswamy said that Singh had told a Congress leader that he will be "screwed" if he doesn't switch over to the BJP.

"Singh has told a Congress leader that they (BJP) would screw him if he doesn't switch over to the BJP. Singh apparently said that there is a case against him in the ED, and that the BJP had threatened to use it against him. The Congress leader narrated the entire conversation to me," said Kumaraswamy.

Condemning Modi for "misusing" his office, Kumaraswamy gave a call to all the opposition parties in the country to come together to oppose the BJP.

"Modi wants to demolish the democracy in the country. The Modi-Shah combine is out to sell the country and the state of Karnataka. MLA elects are being flown to New Delhi in chartered flights at 4 am. If this is not horse trading, then what is. The BJP is threatening and putting pressure on the Congress and JD(S) elected representatives. I call on all the opposition parties to come together," he added.

Kumaraswamy also said that his father and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda would take the lead in bringing together the regional parties in the country to fight the BJP.

He said that the JD(S) would reach out to national leaders like West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and BSP supremo Mayawati to come together and "protect" the interest of the country.

Kumaraswamy also charged that Governor Vajubhai Vala's decision to invite Yeddyurappa to form the government was "unconstitutional".

Big loss to Cong-JD(S) combine

With Singh's defection to BJP, the number of the JD(S)-Congress combine has come down to 116. The parties that have staked claim to form the government had submitted a list to the Governor stating that they had the support of 117 MLAs.

Who is Singh?

Singh, was once a close associate of the Ballari Reddy brothers. A former BJP leader, Singh too is facing illegal mining charges. After having distanced himself from the Reddy brothers, he had joined the Congress, ahead of the assembly polls.

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