Congress lawmakers including top leaders like Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi staged a protest against the ruling BJP in Parliament on Thursday over the political crisis that looms over the grand-old-party in states of Karnataka and Goa.
Top Congress leaders protested near the Gandhi statue in the Parliament complex and shouted slogans. They also carried placards with messages like "Save Democracy".
The Congress-JD(S) coalition government in Karnataka is in turmoil after several MLAs, mostly of the Congress, resigned from the Assembly, threatening the stability of the ruling dispensation.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has claimed that the Karnataka government has been reduced to a minority and has demanded Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy's resignation. They have also asked the Governor Vajubhai Vala to ask Kumaraswamy to conduct a floor test which will prove BJP's newly acquired majority in the Assembly.
In Goa, the Congress suffered a serious setback on Wednesday as 10 of its 15 MLAs quit the party and joined the BJP.
The Congress leadership has blamed the saffron party for the desertions from its ranks in both the states.
(With inputs from PTI)
