India TV Samvaad | Ravi Shankar Prasad on Karnataka crisis: 'Rahul Gandhi trying to rule from courtroom'

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Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday slammed Congress president Rahul Gandhi for 'disrespecting the spirit of democracy' by questioning BJP's claim to power in Karnataka Assembly. "A democracy is run with respect for people's mandate and not just numbers and there is no doubt that people's mandate is with BJP in Karnataka," the Union Minister said. 

Giving stock of four years of Modi Govt on India TV Conclave, Prasad questioned  Congress' legitimacy in making claims to the government when people had voted the party out, "How is it justified that they are trying to make a government when their CM candidate has lost from one of the seats he contested by a margin of 36,000 votes?"

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On the question of similar tactics used by BJP in Goa and Meghalaya, the minister argued that in case no party gets a majority and there was no pre-poll alliance, the first stake to power is of the single largest party, if they don't claim it then post-poll alliances come into play. "We did not ask the Congress to nap while we claimed the power in Goa. In Meghalaya, the incumbent Congress government was voted out. Granted we had few seats, but we cannot refuse MLAs of other parties if they want to come to us for a stable government," the BJP leader said. 

Also read | We can’t refuse if MLAs from other parties come forward and offer us support, says Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Aap Ki Adalat

Prasad claimed that the opportunity to claim power was not available to Congress in the current scenario as, 'Congress and JD(S) came into an alliance while the counting of votes in Karnataka elections was underway, they were aware that the BJP was ahead of them in seats'. 

For the rest, the minister said, "the decision will be taken during the floor test today and so we cannot say anything as of now."

Ravi Shankar Prasad slammed Rahul Gandi for 'challenging the will of the people in a courtroom'. "Rahul Gandhi has no respect for peoples' mandate, he is trying to rule from the court. But What did he get? He had to return empty-handed from the court in the middle of the night," Prasad said referring to the midnight SC battle over Yeddyurappa government's appointment by Governor. 

The law minister took strong exception to Congress chief's comparison between the situation in Karnataka and Pakistan. "It is natural that Rahul Gandhi is not taken seriously in the country, but on this issue I want to say, some of his senior party members need to tell him that his statements like this tarnish India's image globally," he argued, adding that Gandhi's statement has aided Pakistan's agenda. 

On being asked about dissent in highest ranks of the judiciary, the law minister said that the government has the right to review the SC collegium appointments, there should be no objection to that. The minister said that there was room for improvement in judiciary and transparency was crucial. "I do not say that there is no transparency in the judiciary of the country, but it needs improvement," he added. 

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad rounded off his remarks on four years of Modi Govt by saying that "People are happy with us, but we can't please Rahul Gandhi."

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