Sowmya Reddy did attend a key headcount meeting of party legislators in Bengaluru today.
Highlights
- Sowmya Reddy hinted at adding to the growing pile of resignations
- "Not really sure," she said on whether the coalition would survive
- Her father Ramalinga Reddy, a veteran Congress leader, quit on Saturday
Karnataka Congress lawmaker Sowmya Reddy today hinted at adding to the growing pile of resignations that have possibly left the ruling Congress-Janata Dal Secular coalition government in a minority, days after her meeting with Sonia Gandhi.
Asked whether the coalition would survive, she told NDTV: "I am not really sure."
Sowmya Reddy had met with Sonia Gandhi after her father Ramalinga Reddy - a veteran Congress leader -- quit on Saturday.
The meeting was seen by many as an example of Sonia Gandhi, a former Congress president who handed charge to her son Rahul Gandhi in 2017, stepping in during the party's crises.
After that meeting, Sowmya Reddy did attend a key headcount meeting of party legislators in Bengaluru today but later did not rule out her resignation.
"I haven't thought about anything. I haven't ruled out resigning," said the 36-year-old, who described herself and her father as "staunch Congress people".
She justified her father's resignation, saying he was upset with double standards in the party. "We feel betrayed by the state Congress leadership. It has been 13 months. The first time he (Ramalinga reddy) spoke up was in December," she said.
"He built the party but you can see that in this ministry, people who are way junior, people who have barely any experience, people who haven't built the party, they are given the ministry."
With the resignation of the party's Roshan Baig, who had called his seniors "buffoon" last year, the Congress is 14 members down.
None of the dissidents have responded to the party's appeals to return.
Congress leader Siddaramaiah warned of action against the dissident lawmakers. "We are requesting the Speaker to not only disqualify them but also bar them from contesting election for six years. I request them to come back and withdraw their resignation," he said, adding that Speaker Ramesh Kumar was being asked not to accept the letters.
The Speaker, who was not in office when the rebel Congress and JDS lawmakers submitted their resignations on Saturday, said he would act according to the constitution.
If the resignations are accepted, the Congress-JDS coalition's 118 members in the 224-seat state assembly will come down to 102 and the majority mark will drop from 113 to 105. The BJP has 105 members and the support of the two Independents, which takes its tally to 107.