Bangalore, Feb 9 (PTI) Opposition Congress and JDS MLAs today met Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj and requested him to recommend President Rule's in the state under Article 356 of the Constitution to the Centre. "We have met the Governor and requested him to recommend the Central government to dissolve the Assembly and dismiss the state government under Article 356 for failing to govern as per Constitutional laws," Opposition Leader in the Assembly Siddaramaiah said. He alleged the state government has failed in all sectors including implementation of various public schemes and maintaining decorum of the House -- the latest incident being the one in which three ministers were caught watching sleazy clippings on cellphone during Assembly proceedings. "We are ready to face election," Siddaramaiah told reporters after meeting Bhardwaj. Replying to a question, Siddaramaiah claimed that the Governor assured him that necessary steps would be taken. Launching a tirade against Speaker K G Bopaiah, the Opposition leader accused the Speaker of acting in a partisan way to save the BJP government by disqualifying 16 MLAs ahead of the no-confidence motion in 2010 which had ensured survival of the Yeddyurappa government. Former minister and JDS leader N C Nanaiah also claimed that Bopaiah had disqualified 16 MLAs for extraneous reasons, especially to save the government. "The BJP government has forfeited the legal and moral authority to govern the state," he said. Earlier in the morning, Congress staged a dharna in front of the state secretariat to demand dismissal of the BJP government and disqualification of the three former ministers from Assembly membership.
