Bengaluru: A bus, carrying JD(S) MLAs, arrives at Prestige Golfshire Club, Nandi hills road in Devanahalli. They we… https://t.co/l6M5GJSd09 — ANI (@ANI) 1562597003000

Two independent MLAs quit Kumaraswamy ministry, announce support to BJP

BJP demands Kumaraswamy's resignation

Congress-JD(S) ministers resign to pave way for cabinet reshuffle

'I have no fear': Kumaraswamy

'Maharashtra BJP not aware of presence of rebel Karnataka MLAs'

Karnataka crisis

resonates in Parliament

BENGALURU: Fighting hard to save one of its few state governments, Congress along with its ally JD(S) on Monday went on a fire-fighting exercise in Karnataka with ministers from both the parties quitting 'voluntarily' to induct in the cabinet MLAs who have rebelled against the coalition.The crisis staring at the 13-month old government after over a dozen MLAs of the ruling combine quit on Saturday deepened with two ministers and independent MLAs resigning from the ministry and withdrawing their support to the coalition.Incidentally, the two were inducted into the wobbly ministry last month after a fresh bout of dissidence and to prevent them from siding with the BJP .The issue echoed in Parliament where the government denied any role in the political turmoil even as Congress accused it of hatching a conspiracy.In the Lok Sabha, defence minister Rajnath Singh said the resignation drive was started by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi."Big leaders of Congress are resigning," he said.Though chief minister H D Kumaraswamy's government appeared on the brink of collapse, the JD(S) leader, who returned from his 10-day long US trip on Sunday, put up a brave face saying he was not afraid of the developments.The government has plunged into a crisis with 13 MLAs — 10 from the Congress and three from the JD(S) — submitting their resignations from the assembly on Saturday.Two independent MLAs and ministers — H Nagesh and R Shankar — resigned on Monday and withdrew support to the 13-month old government.Karnataka minister R Shankar resigned from the cabinet and extended support to the opposition BJP. Shankar met state Governor Vajubhai Vala and conveyed his decision to support the BJP, a communication from the Raj Bhavan said.His move came shortly after another independent MLA and minister H Nagesh resigned from the council of ministers and withdrew support to Kumaraswamy.Both the independent MLAs later joined the rebel MLAs, who are reportedly camping in Goa.The JD(S)-Congress coalition's total strength after Nagesh and Shankar withdrawing their support is 116 (Congress-78, JD(S)-37 and BSP-1), besides the speaker.With the support of two independents, the BJP has 107 MLAs in the 224-member House, where the half-way mark is 113. If the resignations of the MLAs are accepted, the coalition's tally will be reduced to 103. The Speaker also has a vote.BJP, on its part, demanded immediate resignation of Kumaraswamy, saying his government was in 'minority'."If at all he has dignity, honour and self-esteem, or if he is aware of Karnataka's culture and traditions, he should immediately resign ... Do not try to stick on to the chair. You do not have the numbers," former deputy CM R Ashok said.BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje also demanded the resignation of the coalition government and said "Governance in Karnataka has completely collapsed and chief minister H D Kumaraswamy should resign immediately and pave way for formation of a new government.""There is no governance at all in Karnataka now. It is going to fall anytime. We demand resignation of Kumaraswamy and an opportunity should be given to form a new government," Karandlaje told reporters outside Parliament."The Karnataka government is stagnant and the governance has completely collapsed. Even officials are upset. No growth-oriented work was done in the state in the last one year," she alleged."Kumaraswamy is not at all concerned about the development of the state. When the state plunged into a crisis, the chief minister was staying in America and before that was in a resort," she said.On a hectic day of political activities, Congress took the lead to save the government, holding the meeting at the residence of deputy chief minister G Parameshwara, which was attended by senior leaders, including AICC general secretary K C Venugopal.At the end of the meeting, the party said all its 21 ministers resigned voluntarily to enable a reshuffle of the cabinet and make way for the disgruntled legislators.JD(S) followed suit later with nine of its ministers resigning after Kumaraswamy met Congress leaders."For the larger interest of the party, yesterday and today, we had detailed discussions with senior leaders and ministers," Venugopal told reporters.The meeting was attended by Congress legislature party leader Siddaramaiah among others.Siddaramaiah too said all Congress ministers have voluntarily resigned and have given "full freedom" to the party to reshuffle the ministry."All ministers from #JDS have submitted their resignations just like the 21 ministers from #Congress. Cabinet reshuffle will happen soon, the chief minister's office said in a tweet.Under the coalition arrangement, out of the total 34 ministerial positions, Congress and JD(S) have shared 22 and 12 berths respectively.Prior to the eventual resignation of Shankar, who recently became a minister under Congress quota, Siddaramiah said he too offered to quit, but they had not taken it.Congress had filled in all its berths while there are two vacancies under JD(S) share after Nagesh's resignation on Monday as he was made minister under the regional party's quota.Siddaramaiah said the reshuffle will be done based on eligibility, social justice and regional balance.In a message to the disgruntled MLAs, he said: "I want to tell them don't fall pray to BJPs allurements, we will listen to you and sort out your issues, don't take hasty decision. This is my request to them on behalf of the party," he said, adding efforts were on to pacify them.He said the cabinet reshuffle will happen as soon as possible after discussion with party high-command.Responding to the political developments, Kumaraswamy asserted he had "no fear" about the happenings and was concentrating on fulfilling his responsibilities."I have no fear about the political developments, I will not discuss about the political developments ... I have nothing do with what BJP people are doing and what others are doing," he said.The JD(S) leader evaded a direct answer to a question about the resignation of 13 MLAs and merely said "Let's see".In Mumbai, the Maharashtra BJP claimed it was not aware of the presence of the dissident Congress-JD(S) MLAs from Karnataka even as a saffron party leader was spotted at the hotel where the legislators are put up.Maharashtra BJP legislator Prasad Lad was seen at the hotel on Sunday and Monday. He did not speak to media.In Parliament, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged the Modi government was hatching a conspiracy to break the Congress-led government in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh."This government is secretly hatching a conspiracy against the state government. They took our MLAs to a five star hotel in Mumbai," Chowdhury said during Zero Hour.However, Rajnath Singh denied any role by the party-led government, saying "whatever is happening currently in Karnataka, we have no relation with that."