Karnataka’s BJP-JD(S) combine, on Tuesday, paraded its 128 MLAs before the President of India and sought her intervention to form a “popular government” in the state. Leaders of the alliance said the Congress was trying to stall the formation of the Government through “dirty tricks”. They accused the Karnataka Governor of acting partisan by delaying a decision on government formation.

“It is highly intriguing that the Hon’ble Governor, who made a public statement in Delhi on 24th October, 2007, stating that nobody has come forward to form the Government and his priority would be to install a popular government, has so far not moved in this direction despite the BJP and the JD(S) combine presenting all its MLAs before him,” said the memorandum, submitted by the delegation led by BJP leaders N Venkaiah Naidu, Ravishanker Prasad, aspirant for the chief minister’s post B S Yeddyurappa and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy.

After meeting the President, Kumarasway said JD(S) support to the BJP was “unconditional”. He also hoped that the President would take immediate action to install a “popular government.”

Naidu lambasted the Congress and said it was a “well-settled constitutional norm to permit the popularly elected Assembly to complete its five year tenure unless it becomes otherwise not possible to run the state in accordance with the Constitution”.