Several lawmakers from the Karnataka coalition government have reached the office of the state assembly speaker. Eight Congress lawmakers and three from the Janata Dal Secular or JDS have submitted their resignations to the speaker, in a move that could spell trouble for the coalition. The coalition government's numbers will fall to 105 in the assembly where the majority mark is 116.
Karnataka Congress minister DK Shivakumar however said that none of the lawmakers will resign. "I had come to meet the MLAs," he said after meeting the Congress and JDS legislators at the Speaker's office. Mr Shivakumar is a trouble shooter for the Congress.
"I have come to submit my resignation to speaker. I don't know about my daughter (Congress MLA Sowmya Reddy), she is an independent woman," Congress legislator Ramalinga Reddy told news agency ANI. "I am not going to blame 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," he added.
Here are the Highlights over the crisis in Karnataka:
The Congress-Janata Dal Secular coalition government in Karnataka appears to be teetering on the edge with 11 lawmakers resigning, while Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy is still in the US on holiday. Eight Congress and three Janata Dal Secular legislators submitted their resignations to the speaker this evening, while he was not in office. The legislators then also met the governor at the Raj Bhavan before flying out to Mumbai. If the resignations are accepted, the coalition will be close to collapse.
Karnataka minister DK Shivakumar, the chief troubleshooter of the Congress in the state, on Saturday put up a brave face and said there was still time to salvage the crisis unfolding for the coalition government after 11 legislators announced they had resigned.
BC Patil, one of the Congress MLAs who resigned on Saturday, told reporters that the legislators from Congress and Janata Dal (Secular)-JDS were being taken to Goa.
"MLAs are flying to Goa on a special flight," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The rebel lawmakers arrived at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) airport from where they will be taken to Goa on a special flight.
Congress has rushed its Karnataka in-charge KC Venugopal to Bengaluru to take stock of the situation. The party has dubbed the dissident action as part of "Operation Kamala" under which a BJP govenment is sought to be formed.
Karnataka BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa on Saturday lashed out at Congress party's chief troubleshooter in the state DK Shivakumar as he made efforts to contain the fallout from the resignations of several legislators that spelled fresh trouble for the government.
"The government failed to coordinate with the MLAs...and take them along. It has also failed to live up to the expectations of the people," he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
On the charge that the BJP was trying to destabilise the government through "Operation Lotus (BJP's poll symbol)", he said it is "a figment of your imagination".
"There is no BJP angle to it. We are all seniors. No operation can happen...we are resigning voluntarily against the apathy of the government," he said.
#WATCH: Karnataka Minister DK Shivakumar leaves from Assembly along with three Congress MLAs, including Ramalinga Reddy, who were at Speaker's office. #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/ctsEEXYlU7
- ANI (@ANI) July 6, 2019
"Congress-JDS coalition has been rejected by people of Karnataka. Despite their coalition in Lok Sabha polls, BJP won a massive mandate. It clearly shows the mood of people. MLAs certainly seem to be facing brunt of public anger against coalition," said the BJP's GVL Narasimha Rao.
The Congress-Janata Dal coalition government in Karnataka appears to be teetering on the edge with nearly a dozen lawmakers threatening to quit on Saturday, while Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy is still in the US on holiday. Eight Congress and three Janata Dal Secular legislators are at the office of the state assembly speaker, reportedly to submit their resignation. If these legislators do quit, the coalition may lose its majority.
In big trouble for the coalition government in Karnataka, eight Congress and three Janata Dal Secular legislators have submitted their resignations to the office of the Speaker in his absence, news agency ANI has reported. Six of these legislators have now gone to the Governor's office.