Karnataka Congress and JD(S) leaders on a mission to pacify rebel MLAs

Politics

Congress and JD(S) leaders met on Sunday to discuss the demands out forth by rebel MLAs.

IANS

Representation photo

Hectic parleys are underway to pacify a dozen Congress and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) rebel legislators to withdraw their resignations and save the 13-month-old coalition government in Karnataka. "Senior leaders in both the parties are holding talks to address the concerns of the rebels and ensure they withdraw their resignations. However, they are unable to contact and convince them as about 10 of them flew to Mumbai on Saturday evening," a Congress-JD(S) spokesman told IANS. At the Congress office, party's state unit in-charge KC Venugopal, discussed the grievances of the rebels with Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister Dr G Parameshwara, state working President Eshwar Khandre and senior party leader Mallikarjun Kharge. "Venugopal spoke to senior rebel legislator Ramalinga Reddy, assured him to address his concerns and advised him to withdraw his resignation. Reddy has also been urged to contact the other rebels and convince them to withdraw their resignations," the official said. Ten Congress and three JD(S) lawmakers submitted their resignations to Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar on Saturday, expressing lack of confidence in the coalition government’s leadership. The Congress rebel MLAs are Pratapgouda Patil (Maski), BC Patil (Hirekerur), Ramesh Jarkiholi (Gokak), Shivram Hebbar (Yellapur) Mahesh Kumatahalli (Athani), Ramalinga Reddy (BTM Layout), ST Somashekar (Yeshvantpur), Munirathna (RR Nagar), Anand Singh (Ballari) and SN Subba Reddy (KGF in Kolar). The three rebel JD-S MLAs are AH Vishwanath (Hunsur), Narayana Gowda (KR Pete) and Gopalaiah (Mahalakshmi Layout). Of the Congress rebels, Somashekar and Munirathna, loyalists of Siddaramaiah, want the latter to be made CM again, sources said. Both were ministers in the previous Congress government. "In the JD(S), party supremo HD Deve Gowda held talks with the party's newly appointed state President HKKumaraswamy and PWD Minister HD Revanna at his residence to make rebels Gopalaiah and Narayana Gowda withdraw their resignations," party spokesman Ramesh Babu told IANS. The Speaker told reporters on Saturday that he would look into the resignations of the rebel legislators on Tuesday, ahead of the Monsoon session of the state legislature from July 12. Though Jarkiholi had sent his resignation on July 1, it was not accepted by the Speaker, as it was faxed to his office, which is against the procedure. Congress legislator Anand Singh from Vijayanagara segment had also resigned on July 1. As he personally handed over his resignation letter to the Speaker, his office acknowledged receiving it. As the legislators could not meet the Speaker at his office in the state Secretariat, they met Governor Vajubhai Vala in Raj Bhavan and apprised him of the reasons for their resignation.  

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2NFuXM2
via IFTTT

4 rebelling MLAs from Bengaluru spell serious trouble for Congress in city

Politics

Along with Jayanagar MLA Sowmya Reddy, who is yet to confirm her resignation, and Mahalakshmi Layout MLA Gopalaiah of the JD(S), the coalition could be facing six resignations from Bengaluru alone.

Prajwal Bhat

The crisis facing the coalition government in Karnataka could affect the Congress’ strong base in Bengaluru after it emerged that four MLAs representing the party in the city were among the 13 MLAs who submitted their resignations from the state Assembly on Saturday. The four MLAs are - Ramalinga Reddy (BTM Layout), ST Somashekar (Yeshwanthpur), Byarathu Basavaraj (KR Puram), and Munirathna (Rajarajeshwarinagar) - while K Gopalaiah (Mahalakshmi Layout) of the JD(S) has also submitted his resignation. Sowmya Reddy, who is the Congress MLA of Jayanagar and the daughter of rebel MLA Ramalinga Reddy, is also said to be planning to submit her resignation although she is yet to do so. Ramalinga Reddy's resignation along with four other MLAs from Bengaluru could erode the Congress party's foothold in the city. In the 2018 Assembly Elections, the party managed to win 14 out of the 27 seats in Bengaluru. JD(S) also won in two constituencies limiting BJP to just 11 seats in Bengaluru despite its dominance in other regions in the state. However, political observers note that the edge held by the Congress in Bengaluru will disappear if the party is unable to quell the resignations of its MLAs in the city. "If MLAs like Ramalinga Reddy, who is a seven-time MLA, are resigning from the Assembly, there is no doubt that it will have an effect on the Congress. If the party cannot contain these resignations, it speaks volumes of the slide the party is facing in the city," says Sandeep Shastri, a noted political analyst and Pro Vice-Chancellor of Jain University. Ramalinga Reddy is a former state Home Minister and Transport Minister. He is a seven-time MLA from Bengaluru.  His supporters had earlier staged a protest outside the Congress party office in Bengaluru in December 2018 when he was denied a berth in the cabinet. It was also Ramalinga Reddy who held talks with JD(S) National President HD Deve Gowda to ensure that a Congress–JD(S) coalition came to power in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) council. This, also ensured that the post of BBMP Mayor has been with the Congress for the past four years. According to sources, Ramalinga Reddy has asked the Congress to make him the Bengaluru Development Minister, a portfolio currently held by Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara. Ramalinga Reddy had been miffed with Chief Minister Kumaraswamy for not including him when the cabinet was formed and further excluding him during the reshuffle. Moreover, the Congress was also defeated in all three constituencies in Bengaluru in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections despite fielding big names like Krishna Byre Gowda and Rizwan Arshad. "The Congress has not done enough since the 2018 Assembly Election defeat and the subsequent loss in the Lok Sabha Elections this year. The party President also resigned so the focus has been more on national level politics and that has seen issues in Bengaluru and the state being ignored," Sandeep adds.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2JgZMSR
via IFTTT

Karnataka crisis: Will Cong MLAs from Kolar and Chikkaballapuru quit next?

Politics

On Saturday, it was mainly MLAs from Bengaluru who tendered their resignations.

Theja Ram

Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar

Even as 13 Congress and JD(S) MLAs have tendered their resignations, speculation is rife that five more MLAs from the ruling coalition will resign on Monday. Highly placed sources in the BJP say that the next spate of resignations would come from legislators in Kolar and Chikkaballpura districts. Party insiders say that Chikkaballapura Congress MLA Dr K Sudhakar, Bangarpet Congress MLA Narayanaswamy, Kolar JD(S) MLA Srinivas Gowda and Mulbagal independent MLA H Nagesh are likely to tender their resignations on Monday. "Once they offer their resignations, they will also be flown in to Mumbai or Goa, depending on where they want to be lodged," a source with the BJP said.  On Saturday, 10 Congress and 3 JD(S) MLAs including former state Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy, Ramesh Jarkiholi, H Vishwanath, ST Somashekar, Pratapgouda Patil, K Gopalaiah, BC Patil, Mahesh Kumtahallli, Narayana Gowda, Byrathi Basavaraj, Shivaram Hebbar, Anand Singh and Munirathna Naidu tendered their resignations to the Speaker's office. The MLAs are mainly from Bengaluru. The Speaker is set to make a decision on whether he would accept the resignations on Tuesday.   Meanwhile, Congress leaders in Karnataka have swung into action and are coming up with offers for the rebels to lure them into withdrawing their resignations. Karnataka Water Resource Minister and the troubleshooter for the Congress, DK Shivakumarrushed to JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda's residence at 12 pm on Sunday. Congress insiders say that DK Shivakumar and Deve Gowda discussed the possibility of Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy stepping down from his post in case the BJP plans to move a no confidence motion in the Assembly on July 12. "The Congress leaders Siddaramaiah, KC Venugopal, DK Shivakumar and Zameer Ahmed Khan met and discussed the repercussions on Saturday night. If they are unable to pacify the MLAs, then the best scenario would be to avoid a trust vote and rather ask Kumaraswamy to step down. This may motivate the rebels to rethink their decision," a Congress source said. The strength of the coalition government is 120 now, including the Speaker. Congress has 80 MLAs, the JD(S) has 37 MLAs and there is 1 BSP MLA. Two independent MLAs - R Shankar from Ranebennur and H Nagesh from Mulbagal constituencies - are also supporting the coalition. The BJP’s strength in the Assembly is 105. The majority mark is 113.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2RXZHGJ
via IFTTT

Bengaluru man calls police control room posing as commissioner’s PA, seeks donation

Crime

The man allegedly asked cops to donate money to a blind school.

TNM Staff

Image for representation

The Whitefield police are on the lookout for a man from Bengaluru who called the police control room posing as the police commissioner’s personal assistant and asked the officers at the station to donate some money to a blind school. Although the incident took place on June 29, it came to light only now. The man made the call to the control room of the Deputy Commissioner of Police’s office in Whitefield and instructed the staff to donate money to a blind school. According to reports, the man allegedly stated that the Commissioner had issued the order to all police officials about the donation. He further added that while police inspectors were to donate Rs 2,000 each, sub-inspectors were to donate Rs 1,000 each. He claimed that a representative of an Indiranagar-based blind school would visit the police the next day, to whom the money should be handed over. The staff members passed the message onto senior officials, who were able to verify the false nature of the call. Following this, Whitefield police filed a case of extortion against the man. According to the Deccan Herald, police officials investigating the case were able to trace the call to Doddabalapura and have sent a team to track the culprit. This is not the first time that a hoax call or a prank call has been made to police in the city. On several instances, there have been cases of a hoax call being made to officials. In one such instance in April, a 65-year-old man was arrested by the city police after having made a call to the police control room, claiming that a terror attack would be carried out in seven states, including Karnataka.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2YFjRI2
via IFTTT

Rebel Karnataka MLAs reach Mumbai in private flight belonging to BJP MP's company

Politics

The MLAs are reportedly staying at a luxury hotel in Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex.

Theja Ram

The political drama unfolding in Karnataka has now crossed state borders with Congress and JD(S) rebel legislators landing in Mumbai. At around 8.35 pm on Saturday, nine Congress and JD(S) MLAs arrived at Sofitel Hotel in Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex. Sources in the BJP say that former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa's personal assistant Santosh, MLA Ashwathnarayana and CP Yogeshwar ushered the rebel MLAs from Raj Bhavan to Bengaluru's HAL Airport, where they boarded a private charter flight said to be owned by BJP MP Rajeev Chandrashekar's company Jupiter Capital. This despite Yeddyurappa releasing a pores statement claiming that the BJP had nothing to do with the rebellion in the coalition. A spokesperson for Jupiter Capital said, "Yes, the plane does belong to Jupiter Capital. It must also be noted that when the company receives a request to hire the private plane, it is up to the discretion of the company head to rent it out. The MLAs did travel in a plane owned by Jupiter Capital." On Saturday afternoon, 12 MLAs -- 9 from Congress and 3 from the JD(S) -- knocked on Speaker Ramesh Kumar's door at Vidhana Soudha and tendered their resignations. The MLAs also rushed to meet the Governor Vajubhai Vala to apprise him of the political turmoil in the coalition. The MLAs include former state Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy, Ramesh Jarkiholi, AH Vishwanath, Somashekar, Pratap Gouda Patil, Gopalaiah, BC Patil, Mahesh Kumtahallli, Narayana Gowda, Byrati Basavaraj and Shivram Hebbar. The 11 Karnataka MLAs, who submitted their resignation, have done so demanding a change in leadership in the Congress-JD(S) led government, helmed by Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. If five more MLAs resign, the coalition will no longer have a majority in the Karnataka Assembly. "There are way too many power centres in the coalition. There is Kumaraswamy, who is hoarding 11 portfolios. There were several requests to expand the number of cabinet berths and share the portfolios with seniors and veterans. That did not happen. On the other hand, Siddaramaiah has also been controlling Congress MLAs. There was a perpetual stalemate between Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah. Constant transfer of officials and the power struggle resulted in several veterans being sidelines. They realised that staying with the coalition was worthless," a highly placed source in Congress said. The strength of the coalition government is 120 now, including the Speaker. Congress has 80 MLAs, the JD(S) has 37 MLAs and there is 1 BSP MLA. Two independent MLAs - R Shankar from Ranebennur and H Nagesh from Mulbagal constituencies - are also supporting the coalition. The BJP’s strength in the Assembly is 105. The majority mark is 113.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2Xue6vj
via IFTTT

Karnataka crisis: Huge drama as DK Shivakumar tears up Cong MLA's resignation letter

Politics

Sources say that when DK Shivakumar found out that Munirathna had accompanied eight other MLAs to submit their resignations, he arrived at the Vidhana Soudha in a fit of rage.

Theja Ram

The crisis in Karnataka politics continues to intensify as 11 MLAs have submitted resignation letters. Their resignation signals the growing disillusion within the weakening Congress-JD(S) coalition, as it teetered towards collapse on Saturday. Karnataka minister and troubleshooter DK Shivakumar has been working to pacify the rebelling MLAs but drama ensued after he learned that RR Nagar MLA Munirathna had also tendered his resignation. Sources say that when DK Shivakumar found out that Munirathna had accompanied eight other MLAs to submit their resignations, he arrived at the Vidhana Soudha in a fit of rage and tore up Munirathna’s letter.  The MLAs who have submitted their resignations include former state Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy, Ramesh Jarkiholi, AH Vishwanath, Somashekar, Pratap Gouda Patil, Gopalaiah, BC Patil, Mahesh Kumtahallli, Narayana Gowda, Byrati Basavaraj, Shivram Hebbar. Munirathna then went to the Governor to directly voice his concerns regarding the party.  And in their meeting with the Governor, the MLAs complained about DK Shivakumar tearing up Munirathna’s resignation letter. The Governor, Vajubhai Vala, then got Bengaluru Commissioner Alok Kumar to hear them out.  According to sources, since the letter was torn, Munirathna’s resignation was not considered official.  The 11 Karnataka MLAs who submitted their resignation to Speaker Ramesh Kumar claimed they made the decision due to their loss of confidence in the leadership of Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, sources say. DK Shivakumar meanwhile is busy trying to sort out the issue. "It was shocking to me that Ramalinga Reddy offered his resignation. He is a senior leader of the party, a seven-time MLA like me. He feels humiliated by the party and the ministry. I hope to sort it out,” Shivakumar told TNM outside his residence in Bengaluru on Saturday.  If five more MLAs resign, the coalition will no longer have a majority in the Karnataka Assembly.  The strength of the coalition government is 120 now, including the Speaker. Congress has 80 MLAs, the JD(S) has 37 MLAs and there is 1 BSP MLA. Two independent MLAs - R Shankar from Ranebennur and H Nagesh from Mulbagal constituencies - are also supporting the coalition. The BJP’s strength in the Assembly is 105. The majority mark is 113. Read also: ‘Anybody but Kumaraswamy as CM’: What 11 Karnataka MLAs who resigned claim they want 

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2Jth12j
via IFTTT

'Shocked that Ramalinga Reddy gave his resignation', DK Shivakumar to TNM

Politics

Sources say that Ramalinga Reddy has asked for Bengaluru Development ministry.

Prajwal Bhat

Karnataka Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar on Saturday stated that he was shocked that a senior leader like Ramalinga Reddy submitted his resignation from the Karnataka Assembly. Speaking to TNM outside his residence in Bengaluru, Shivakumar said, "It was shocking to me that Ramalinga Reddy offered his resignation. He is a senior leader of the party, a seven-time MLA like me. He feels humiliated by the party and the ministry. I hope to sort it out.” According to sources, Ramalinga Reddy is keen on getting the Bengaluru Development portfolio, which is currently held by Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara. Ramalinga Reddy had been miffed with Kumaraswamy for not including him when the cabinet was formed and further excluding him during the reshuffle. The developments come on a day when eight Congress MLAs and three JD(S) MLAs submitted their resignation letters to Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar. The Speaker, however, was not in his office. Though one more Congress MLA wanted to submit his resignation, Congress leader DK Shivakumar tore it. Despite this, Shivakumar expressed confidence that the coalition government in power in Karnataka will continue. "We are confident (that it will continue). There may be interpersonal differences. Each MLA has his or her own set of problems and we will settle them. I cannot tell what I have discussed with them. BJP leaders are pretending to be innocent but I know who they are speaking to. Let us wait and see,” he said. He further added that the coalition is ready to make sacrifices to ensure the government is secure. "We will rectify what is wrong and save the government. We are ready for all sacrifices. We can't stop who is leaving but leaders have left in the past and then returned,” he added. It was DK Shivakumar who acted as troubleshooter this time too and rushed to the Speaker's office in Vidhana Soudha when the MLAs went to hand over their resignations. DK Shivakumar managed to take at least four MLAs home with him. But in his conversation with TNM later, it was clear that he had not fully managed to convince these Congress MLAs to take back their resignations. The rebel 11 MLAs are currently on their way to Mumbai. Their resignation spells trouble for the Karnataka government, as they are 4 MLAs away from losing majority in the Assembly. Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy is in the US and is rushing back to Bengaluru. The majority mark in the Karnataka Assembly is 113 and the Congress had 80 MLAs, the JD(S) has 37 MLAs and there is 1 BSP MLA. There are two independent MLAs who have supported the coalition. The opposition BJP’s strength in the Assembly is 105.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2Ju3hEm
via IFTTT