There is an imminent threat to the Congress-JDS coalition government in the state of Karnataka following the resignations from 13 legislators of the Congress-JDS government, even as the chief minister HD Kumaraswamy continues to holiday in the US. 13 rebel legislators of the ruling coalition, eight from the Congress and three from the Janata Dal (Secular), had submitted their resignation to the Vidhan Sabha speaker K. R. Ramesh Kumar. Later, after resigning, the rebel MLAs met the Governor Vajubhai Vala at the Raj Bhavan.
Among the Congress MLAs who have offered their resignation to the Speaker, the former Home Minister and seven-time MLA Ramalinga Reddy, Ramesh Jarkilohi, Mahesh Kumathahalli, ST Somashekar, BA Basavaraj, BC Patil, Pratapgowda Patil and Shivram Heber are the ones who have presented their resignations to the speaker. Whereas, H Vishwanath, K. Gopaliya and Narayana Gowda are the JDS MLAs who submitted their resignations.
The rebel JDS MLA H Vishwanath who was removed as state JDS president just days ago, said, “We have given our resignation to the Speaker’s office. We have brought this to the notice of the governor as well. We request that our resignations be accepted.”
According to the numerics, the Congress and JDS coalition need to have 113 legislators to remain in power. Currently, they have 116 MLAs in the 224-member state assembly. If the resignations of the 11 lawmakers are accepted, the alliance will fall short of the majority mark. Right from its inception, the alliance between Congress and JDS had been shaky and wavering due to myriad struggles and revolts due to infighting.
“I have come to submit my resignation to the speaker,” Ramalinga Reddy told news agency ANI while waiting at Speaker Ramesh Kumar’s office. He further added, “I am not going to impute anyone in the party or the high command. I somewhere feel I was being neglected over some issues. That is why I have taken this decision.”
The troubleshooter minister for Karnataka Congress, DK Shivakumar, had tried to cajole the three Congress lawmakers, including Ramalinga Reddy, to go with him, after meeting the rebels at the Speaker’s office. However, they were later seen entering the Governor’s office.
The rebel Karnataka Congress-JDS MLAs were seen at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Airport in Bengaluru. 10 of the rebel Congress-JDS employees have left for Goa. 3 have stayed behind.
#WATCH Rebel Karnataka Congress-JDS MLAs who had submitted their resignations, are at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) airport in Bengaluru. They will fly to Goa on a special flight. #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/m2JEGb3GgI
— ANI (@ANI) July 6, 2019
BJP’s BS Yeddyurappa has rubbished the allegations made by the Congress party that BJP is indulging in horse-trading. Yeddyurappa said, “I and my party have no role in the developments happening in other rival parties. I heard through media that Congress-JDS legislators have resigned from their Karnataka Assembly seats. I’m categorically reiterating that BJP has absolutely no say on the issue.”
However, Congress party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala has asserted that BJP is behind the resignation of the rebel MLAs. Surjewala said, “A new symbol of horse trading politics has emerged in the country.”
An emergency meeting is called upon by the Karnataka state Congress which is attended by Karnataka Congress in-charge, KC Venugopal, CLP leader Siddaramaiah, KPCC working president Eashwar Khandre, DK Shivakumar, DK Suresh and others to discuss possible alternatives to avert the looming crisis.
