india

Updated: Jul 10, 2019 12:26 IST

Mumbai Renaissance hotel was the stage for high drama and histrionics on Wednesday morning when Karnataka Congress leader DK Shivakumar arrived there to meet his party rebels saying he had come to meet his friends as they ‘couldn’t go for a divorce immediately.’

Action started as soon as the news came that Karnataka leaders may land in Mumbai to try and convince rebels, who resigned from the HD Kumaraswamy cabinet last week, to return to party fold. Rebel MLAs Shivram Hebbar, Pratap Gowda Patil, BC Patil, Byrati Basavraj, ST Somshekar, Ramesh Jarkiholi, Gopalaiyya, H Vishwanath, Narayan Gowda and Mahesh Kumutali shot off a letter to Mumbai police, saying they feel “threatened” as some leaders from their state would “storm” the Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel in Powai.

The police immediately threw a security ring comprising Maharashtra State Reserve Police Force and Riot Control Police around the hotel in Powai and said Shivakumar would not be allowed to enter.

“The MLA’s are in the hotel and we have deployed adequate police personnel outside the hotel in the morning to look into any kind of law and order situation,” Mumbai Police spokesperson DCP Manjunath Singe said, according to ANI.

Almost simultaneously protesters gathered at the hotel and started shouting ‘go back’ slogans. Unperturbed by the slogans and the police presence Shivakumar arrived at the hotel saying: “Let Mumbai Police or any other force be deployed. Let them do their duty. We’ve come to meet our friends. We were born together in politics, we will die together in politics. They are our party men. We have come to meet them.”

The police did not let him enter the hotel but Shivakumar used words such as love, respect divorce and heat beats to send his message across. “I’ve booked a room here. My friends are staying here. There has been a small problem, we’ve to hold negotiations. We can’t go for a divorce immediately. There is no question of threatening, we love and respect each other,” the Congress leader said.

He buttressed his point by saying: “Nothing is permanent in politics. There’re no friends and no enemies. Anyone can turn at any moment. I’m trying to contact them(rebel MLAs).I’ll get a call. Their heart is beating to meet their friend,” according to ANI

Shivakumar’s visit comes a day after Karnataka’s creaky coalition government received a breather after assembly speaker KR Ramesh Kumar rejected the resignations of eight lawmakers and asked five others to meet and convince him that their letters offering to demit membership of the House were indeed genuine.

All 13 rebel MLAs – 10 from the Congress and three from the JD(S) – submitted their resignations to the speaker’s office last week, threatening the government’s slim majority in the 224-member assembly.

Two independent MLAs withdrew their support to the state’s Congress-JD(S) coalition government on Monday. A suspended lawmaker separately confirmed he would quit. Earlier, 12 lawmakers put in their papers on Saturday.

The strength of Karnataka’s 224-member assembly will be reduced to 211 if their resignations are accepted. A party or a coalition would need 106 seats to form a government in such a scenario.

The Congress-JD (S) coalition will be left with 104 members while the BJP will have the support of 105. The BJP is also likely to get the backing of two independents.