JDS-Congress government’s hope dims as 2 more MLAs quit

BENGALURU: Hopes of survival further thinned for the JDS-Congress government in Karnataka on Wednesday after two more Congress MLAs resigned their assembly membership, giving an upper hand to BJP.
Later in the day, chief minister HD Kumaraswamy called for a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, fuelling speculation that he was considering quitting the CM’s post even though the Speaker was yet to accept the resignations of 16 MLAs.

On the opposition side, BJP state unit chief BS Yeddyurappa asked MLAs to be prepared for a ‘big sacrifice’.

Yeddyurappa has asked his MLAs not to nurse hopes of becoming ministers in the BJP ministry. He said he will induct all those Congress and JDS MLAs as well as two independents who quit their positions and switched sides first before considering claims of BJP MLAs.

MTB Nagaraj (Hosakote) and K Sudhakar (Chikkaballapur), who submitted their letters of resignation to Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar in the legislature building, were asked to appear before him on July 17 when he will take further steps on their resignations. The Speaker said he would examine the letters and decide as per law.

In Bengaluru, it was a day of rallies and protests by both the BJP and Congress. The Congress held a demonstration and attempted to lay siege to the Raj Bhavan to protest what it called PM Modi and BJP president Amit Shah’s attempts to topple the state government.

The rally was led by AICC leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and KC Venugopal, former CM Siddaramaiah and ex-union minister Mallikarjun Kharge. The Congress leaders were prevented from reaching the Raj Bhavan by the police, who arrested them on the way and released later. Kumaraswamy and JDS senior leaders stayed away from the Congress protest site. A BJP delegation, led by Yeddyurappa, met governor VR Vala and submitted a memorandum urging him to direct the Speaker to act immediately on the resignation letters. BJP delegation later met the Speaker, too, and urged him to act fast on the resignations.