Bengaluru, Mar 22 (IANS): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar on Friday said that the BJP is resorting to "forceful suppression" of the Opposition in the fear of losing the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

Addressing a joint press conference at the KPCC office along with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and AICC General Secretary Surjewala, he said: "The BJP is arresting sitting Chief Ministers, seizing the accounts of Opposition parties and misusing Governors as it fears loss in the upcoming election."

 "We are working in a democratic set-up. We enrolled 78 lakh people for the Congress party. We had collected about Rs 90 crores from the party workers. We had also collected Rs 2 lakh each from the MLA ticket aspirants during the Assembly elections which amounted to Rs 20 crore. All that money has been seized by the BJP," he said.

"Our party has only 11 per cent of the contribution from electoral bonds while BJP has got 57 per cent. When we are struggling to pay the employees of the party, the BJP has seized Rs 290 crores in the bank accounts on the pretext of IT violation.

The party is not able to give advertisements for the elections. We are not getting relief from the courts as well. I have not seen politics stoop to this level in the last 40 years. The BJP is using force against the Opposition just to save itself from a defeat," he said.

"The BJP had done the India Shining campaign in 2004, but the Congress won the elections. The BJP is scared that they will lose this election in the same manner. The Congress party condemns the highhandedness of the BJP.

"Prime minister Modi was accusing our guarantee schemes and now he himself has stolen our guarantee schemes and is advertising about it. The people are aware of our work and we are confident that they will support us," he added.