Thursday, January 12 2006 14:54 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: Ruling out a tie-up with the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) for formation of a new government in Karnataka, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today (Jan 12, 2006) demanded a snap poll to the Karnataka assembly to put an end to the 'political instability' in that state.

'An open fighting is going on between the coalition partners Congress and JD(S) in that state. Political instability had set in. Only a fresh poll to the state assembly should put an end to that', Senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters here.

Asked whether the BJP would extend support to JD(S) in case it pulled out of the coalition and staked its claim to form a ministry in that state, he said 'why should we support other parties. We are the number one party in the Karnataka assembly with the maximum number of MLAs', he said.

Coming down heavily on the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre for its decision to stop the subsidy on food grains supplied under Public Distribution System and to reduce the EPF interest rate, he said both were anti-people policies. 'The Congress, which said in its poll manifesto that common man's interests were safe in its hands, has taken these anti-people decision, which will adversely affect the common man. They have gone back from their poll promise', he said.

The BJP's national council, at its meeting at New Delhi on January 20, would discuss these issues and decide on an agitation if the government did not reverse its decisions by then, he said.