Karnataka political crisis: HD Kumaraswamy considering postponement of monsoon session of assembly 

HD Kumaraswamy.

New Delhi: In a desperate attempt to save the government from collapsing, the Karnataka chief minister, HD Kumaraswamy, is considering sending a resolution to the governor, Vajubhai Vala, requesting postponement of the monsoon session of the legislative assembly. The ruling Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition government in Karnataka is facing a huge crisis following the resignation of 12 Congress legislators from the assembly, on Saturday. This started with two Congress MLAs resigning, on Monday.

Kumaraswamy, immediately after returning from the United States, on Sunday, had met the senior Congress leaders to discuss the strategies to save to collapsing government. His proposals included constituting a fresh cabinet and offering ministerial positions to rebels. KC Venugopal, AICC general secretary; Mallikarjun Kharge and Siddaramaiah, senior Congress leaders from Karnataka, and JD(S) leaders were present at the meeting. According to media reports, the party leaders were seen pursuing rebel MLAs to withdraw their resignation during the meeting.

Sources close to the CM, while talking to reporters, said, “As of now, leaders of the JD(S)-Congress coalition feel there is a dire need to get some time to work towards strategies to save the government. In this context, the chief minister is considering the possibility of postponing the legislature session on the grounds that there is uncertainty as the speaker, Ramesh Kumar, has sought time to look into the resignations.”

In an attempt to sort out the crisis, the Congress has convened its legislative party meeting on Tuesday in Bengaluru. However, the 12 rebel MLAs have refused to attend the meeting and even refused to withdraw their resignations.     

The rebel MLAs, after submitting the resignations in the office of the speaker, on Saturday, are currently camping in Mumbai. They are likely to return to Bengaluru on Tuesday to personally hand over the resignations to the speaker.

Meanwhile, former chief minister and Congress Legislative Party leader Siddaramaiah and former Union minister Mallikarjun Kharge have blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party for creating the crisis in the JD(S)-Congress coalition government. Kharge, talking to reporters, said, “The Centre is directly involved in the turmoil. BJP is trying to kill the democracy. The Congress will not tolerate it.”

While rejecting the Congress’s allegations, BJP general secretary P Muralidhar Rao said that the allegations are baseless, and the BJP has nothing to do in the internal affairs of the Congress.

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