Karnataka: JDS minister's 'street dog' jibe at BJP leaders

Bengaluru, Dec 28: Karnataka Transport Minister and JDS leader DC Thamanna Friday took a jibe at BJP leaders using an analogy of street dogs while rebutting senior BJP lawmaker Umesh Katti's claim that the Congress-JDS coalition government would collapse soon.

Katti had recently claimed that 15 disgruntled MLAs of the ruling coalition were in touch with him and that the saffron party would form the new government in Karnataka by next week. Hitting out at Katti, Thammana said, "J H Patel (a former chief minister) had once narrated a story in the state assembly about an elephant and street dogs.

He recalled Patel saying an elephant was walking ahead of street dogs who were hoping something would fall from atop the tusker that they would eat.

"Neither did the food fall, nor the dogs got something to eat. This story fits perfectly with BJP leaders, who are expecting this government to fall," he told reporters at Maddur near Mysuru.

Replying to a query, Thamanna said Katti has been predicting the government's fall "today or tomorrow" for quite some time. "For the past seven months, we are hearing this every day but this has not materialised," he said.

Soon after Katti's claim, state BJP chief and Leader of the Opposition B S Yeddyurappa had ruled out any attempt by his party to destabilise the present dispensation. He said his party would take an "appropriate decision" if there was political instability in the state.

PTI