Mangaluru: Kota Srinivas Poojary, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, on Thursday condemned Congress workers for laying siege to the residence of president of the State unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) B.S. Yeddyurappa in Bengaluru.

Addressing presspersons here, Mr. Poojary said this only showed the “goonda culture” prevailing in the Congress. This action had followed the reported statement of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy calling people to rise in rebellion. This call was undemocratic. “How can a Chief Minister give such a call in a democracy?” he questioned.

The police had not even bothered to offer security to the house though Mr. Yeddyurappa. This showed the law and order in the State in a poor light, he said.

Mr. Poojary said the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government had no control over the administrative machinery. Hence Ministers were making statements of raking up of previous cases against Mr. Yeddyurappa. The courts had acquitted Mr. Yeddyurappa of all charges. If it wants, the coalition government could go on an appeal on these decisions, he said.

Mr. Poojary said there were grave charges of land-grabbing against Public Works Department Minister H.D. Revanna, who was also Mr. Kumaraswamy’s brother. Mr. Kumaraswamy should seek Mr. Revanna’s resignation and order a probe into these charges, he said.

He said the Income Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorate were autonomous and not under the control of the Union government. They had booked cases against Water Resources Minister D.K. Shivakumar. Mr. Kumaraswamy should drop Mr. Shivakumar from the Cabinet, he said.

Mr. Poojary said the BJP was not poaching MLAs from other parties. But MLAs from the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) were tired of the bickering within their own parties. “If 20 MLAs come out from those parties voluntarily and support the BJP, what is wrong in it?” he said.

Mr. Kumaraswamy had called a meeting of legislators of the coastal districts in Bengaluru on September 24 to discuss sand extraction, land conversion, and other issues. Hence, the protest planned by the BJP on sand extraction issue on that day in the district stood cancelled, Mr. Poojary said.