BS Yeddyurappa attacked Congress's DK Shivakumar. (File)
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.
"People are watching the way DK Shivakumar is behaving. He tore resignation letters of some of the MLAs inside the Speaker's office, who had gone to resign. It is condemnable," Mr Yeddyurappa said.
The Congress-Janata Dal coalition government in Karnataka appeared to be teetering on the edge with nearly a dozen lawmakers submitting their resignation on Saturday.
With Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy still in the US on holiday, minister Shivakumar swerved into action holding meetings with the estranged legislators.
"Nobody will resign. I had come to meet the MLAs," he told journalists. He led three Congress legislators, including Ramalinga Reddy, to a huddle to try and persuade them to change their mind. However, the legislators lined up with all the dissidents for a joint briefing outside the governor's residence.
Eight Congress and three Janata Dal Secular legislators have submitted their resignation to the office of assembly speaker in his absence. They claimed in all 14 legislators of the ruling coalition are quitting. If these legislators do quit, the coalition may lose its majority.
The year-old coalition, wobbly from the start, has struggled with revolt and infighting since it came to power in May last year. This time, it is Congress loyalist Ramalinga Reddy who is preparing to cross over with a group if lawmakers.
The Congress and JDS together have 116 in the 224-member state assembly where 113 is the majority mark. The coalition will crash if 14 lawmakers quit.