Karnataka BJP leaders meet Amit Shah to discuss government formation

A group of Karnataka BJP leaders met party president Amit Shah on Thursday (July 25) as the party weighed its options following the fall of the Congress-JD(S) government in the state.

The state BJP led by former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa is keen to stake claim to form the next government but is waiting for the central leaderships nod for its next move.

Karnataka BJP leaders, including Jagdish Shettar, Arvind Limbavali, Madhuswamy, Basavaraj Bommai and Yeddyurappas son Vijayendra, met Shah as they discussed the development in the state and explored the options ahead for the party.

With Speaker Ramesh Kumar yet to take a call on resignations of 15 rebel coalition MLAs and pleas by their parties to disqualify them, the BJP is treading cautiously as Kumars decision may have a serious bearing on the fate of the next government.

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The state also needs to pass the finance bill before July 31. Sources said that if a government is not in place before the month end, then imposition of the President’s rule may be a constitutional necessity for the passage of the bill, which is why the BJP is also consulting legal experts.

The HD Kumaraswamy government in the state fell on Tuesday after it lost the confidence vote, garnering 99 votes against the 105 by the BJP in the assembly, ending the nearly three-week-long high political drama.

The coalition had needed 103 votes in its favour to win the motion as 20 MLAs Congress-JDS (17), BSP (1), Independents (2) skipped proceedings, reducing the effective strength of the House to 205.

Siddu rubbishes reports that he instigated rebels

Senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday rubbished reports that he had instigated the rebels to resign and destabilise the coalition government headed by H D Kumaraswamy.

Cautioning media houses against peddling “false news”, Siddaramaiah said he would give them a befitting reply if they repeat the allegation in front of him.

In a series of tweets, the Congress strongman in Karnataka said the rebels were trying to “shift the blame on me but the facts would surface once the dust settles.” “Media houses are reporting that few rebel MLAs have claimed that I instigated them to resign and destabilise our government. This is nothing but a false allegation with mala fide intention. I will give them a befitting reply if they repeat the same in front of me,” Siddaramaiah said.

“The rebel MLAs are trying to shift the blame on me after widespread public backlash against them for betraying and back-stabbing both the electorate and the party. Everything will be clear when the dust settles but by then they would have bitten the dust,” he said.

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Recalling his days as chief minister, Siddaramaiah said there were many baseless allegations against him – “a venom he digested to serve people with good intent.” “Time will answer everything! Satyameva Jayate!!” Siddaramaiah said.

As the coordination committee chairman of the coalition government, Siddaramaiah was charged with not letting the JD(S) and the Congress state presidents to be part of the panel led by him.

The JDS state president-turned-rebel MLA AH Vishwanath had been targeting Siddaramaiah for not bringing out the common minimum programme as agreed upon by the two parties at the time of forming the coalition government.

Vishwanath had also charged him with betraying JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda by making him trust the Congress during the Lok Sabha election and then working for his defeat from the Tumkur constituency at the fag end of his political career at the age of 87.