'13 MLAs will not withdraw resignation': Rebel Cong MLA ST Somashekar

Politics

We have not demanded that Kumaraswamy be replaced with another CM, the rebels said.

TNM Staff

The political drama unfolding in Karnataka has taken a new turn with rebel MLAs, who are currently cooped up in a Mumbai hotel claiming that they are firm on their resignations. Speaking to the media, Congress MLA from Yeshwanthpur ST Somashekar, who addressed the media at Sofitel Hotel in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex told the media that the 13 MLAs, who have tendered their resignations, will under no circumstance go back on their decision. “Ten MLAs are currently here in Mumbai. Ramalinga Reddy, Munirathna and Anand Singh will join us tomorrow (Monday). Under no circumstance will the 13 MLAs go back on our decision to withdraw our resignation letters. We have been hearing in the media that some of us are willing to withdraw our resignation letters. This is not true,” ST Somashekar said. Somashekar also stated that the rebel MLAs had not demanded that the Chief Minister be changed but only expressed their disillusionment about Kumaraswamy’s administration. “We have not demanded that Kumaraswamy be replaced with another CM. That was never our demand. We will not go back on our decision. On paper, the coalition may still be together but the government had already toppled 10 days ago. We aired our grievances and we also informed our leaders that we would quit,” Somashekar said. Backing up Somashekar’s statement, BC Patil too said that the 13 rebel MLAs would not go back on their decision. “Whatever BC Patil said is true. We 13 MLAs will not withdraw our resignations under any circumstance,” BC Patil said. Somashekar’s statement comes just in the heels of JD(S) leader GT Deve Gowda’s saying that the party was willing to allow Siddaramaiah or any other Congress leader become the Chief Minister. The political drama began unfolding last week after MLAs Anand Singh and Ramesh Jarkiholi resigned. Soon after, 11 other Congress and JD(S) MLAs tendered their resignations on Saturday and flew away to a hotel in Mumbai, awaiting the Speaker’s decision slated to be announced later on Tuesday. The 10 Congress and 3 JD(S) MLAs include 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. 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. The BJP needs 16 MLAs from the coalition to resign in order to topple the government and come to power.

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A new CM as compromise formula in Karnataka? JD(S) says they are fine with it

Politics

Soon after meeting with HD Deve Gowda, Water Resource Minister DK Shivakumar rushed to meet Kharge amid speculation that Kumaraswamy would resign as CM.

TNM Staff

Primary and Secondary Education Minister of Karnataka and JD(S) leader GT Devegowda openly told the media that the party was willing to make any sacrifice to save the coalition. “There have been many rumours that I will offer my resignation and join the BJP. The people of Chamundeshwari voted for me because I contested on a JD(S) ticket. I will not betray the people and my party. I am not resigning. Our senior leaders have discussed the issue and we are willing to make any sacrifice. If I have to step down as minister, I will. We are also fine with any Siddaramaiah or any Congress or JD(S) leader becoming the Chief Minister,” GT Deve Gowda said. Soon after meeting JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda and discussing strategies to save the coalition government in Karnataka, Water Resource Minister DK Shivakumar and his brother, the Bengaluru Rural MP DK Suresh on Sunday rushed to meet veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge. At around 7.30 pm on Sunday, the DK brothers rushed to meet Kharge to discuss the recent political upheaval in the state. Congress insiders say that JD(S) leaders is willing to let Mallikarjun Kharge become the Chief Minister if it would save the coalition. “The rebel leaders want Kumaraswamy to resign. They are okay with any other Congress leader becoming the Chief Minister,” the source said. The political turmoil in Karnataka began after a spate of resignations by MLAs of the ruling coalition. The rebels had openly stated that they are unhappy about Kumaraswamy being the Chief Minister and accused him of maladministration.   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 and Munirathna Naidu tendered their resignations to the Speaker's office. Last week Congress MLA Anand Singh had tendered his resignation to the Speaker. 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.

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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.  

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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