K'taka 'RSS Governor' subverting Constitution: Amarinder

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today slammed Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala for "subverting" the Constitution by inviting the BJP to form the government in the southern state.

Labelling Vala an "RSS Governor", the chief minister said democratic polity of India had been "massacred to serve the desire and will" of Vala's "political masters" in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"It was shocking the way the Governor had given time to the BJP to break the opposition and resort to horsetrading. (But) What else do you expect from an RSS Governor," he told the media.

He described the entire episode as "unfortunate", and said the developments in the last 24 hours were extremely dangerous for the country.

"We do not want India to become like Pakistan, where democracy is subverted by dictators and the Army every step of the way," he said.

Citing the examples of Goa and Manipur where governments were formed by majority post-poll alliances due to hung verdicts, Singh said the entire nation wanted an answer from the Karnataka Governor.

The Governor should have called the parties with majority support to form the government and take the floor test immediately, instead of handing over the mantle to the minority party and giving them 15 days "to make and break permutations and combinations through horsetrading", he added.

The chief minister expressed hope that the Supreme Court would uphold the Constitutional principles and save the country's democratic structure from being crushed by fissiparous forces.

Earlier, in a strongly-worded tweet, the chief minister wrote: "Democracy has been brazenly manipulated, mutilated and massacred in Karnataka. It does not augur well for the future of India. All eyes are now on the Supreme Court to come out in protection of the Constitutional ethos on which the very foundation of our nation rests."

Governor Vala invited the BJP, who managed to win 104 of the 222 seats in the Karnataka Assembly polls, to form government despite the party falling short of the magic figure of 112.

BJP legislature party leader B S Yeddyurappa was sworn in as the chief minister, after an overnight high-voltage legal battle in the Supreme Court. The Governor has given him 15 days to prove his majority in the Assembly.

The Congress and JD(S), which have announced a post-poll tie-up, have won 78 and 37 seats respectively, comfortably crossing the halfway mark.