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Karnataka crisis live: We have support of 107 MLAs, CM Kumaraswamy must resign, says Yeddyurappa
Monday has brought only bad news for the Congress-JDS combine in Karnataka with all indications pointing towards an extremely precarious future for the HD Kumaraswamy-led state government.
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Karnataka: Congress leaders KC Venugopal, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Siddaramaiah, G Parameshwara, MB Patil and Eshwara Khandre hold meeting at an undisclosed location, with legal advisers to discuss about the further action against the MLAs who have resigned.
A bus, carrying JD(S) MLAs, arrives at Prestige Golfshire Club, Nandi hills road in Devanahalli. They were earlier staying at Taj West End hotel.
2 independent MLAs met the Guv & gave letter that they'll support BJP, now we're 105 + 2 = 107. Even when they've lost majority Kumaraswamy is speaking like that, people are observing everything. Let us see & wait," BS Yeddyurappa, BJP on K'taka CM saying 'Govt will run smoothly'.
A bus, carrying JD(S) MLAs, leaves from Taj West End hotel. They are now being taken to Golfshire, Nandi hills road in Devanahalli.
Bengaluru: Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara and others to meet at 7 pm.
14 rebel Karnataka MLAs, inclouding 10 from Congress, 2 from JDS and 2 Independents left for Goa at 5 PM. BJP leader Mohit Bhartiya has been tasked with taking these leaders to Goa.
Another Independent lawmaker R Shankar resigns from the Council of Ministers, in a fresh blow to dwindling Congress-JD(S) coalition in Karnataka.
Reports suggest he will be joining the party of rebel MLAs.
Karnataka Minister and Congress leader DK Shivakumar leaves for Mumbai.
Youth Congress workers protest outside Sofitel hotel in Mumbai where rebel Karnataka MLAs are staying.
"When they lost the confidence, they have no moral right to conduct the business. That is why we are demanding that he (CM) resign immediately," said Yeddyurappa.
"Now we are having BJP legislative party meeting & we are going to take appropriate decision there. Tomorrow all our workers will protest, because Congress-JD(S) lost the majority so CM should resign immediately. That is the people's aspiration also," Yeddyurappa told ANI.
Six more MLAs from Karnataka are going to reach Mumbai's Sofitel hotel tonight. Their names are Roshan Baigh, Kampli Ganesh, Rehman Khan, Anjali Nimbalkar, Soumya Ramlinga Reddy and Bhima Naik.
BJP MLAs reach Bengaluru for Legislature Party meet. Karnataka BJP president and former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa is also going to attend the meeting.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah has expressed surprise over the fact that Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is still confident of running his government smoothly. "This is some serious confidence on display here! What does he know that NO one else seems to know," Abdullah tweeted.
Karnataka Independent MLA Nagesh has reached Sofitel hotel in Mumbai where other rebels Karnataka MLAs are staying. Nagesh has resigned as a minister,earlier today.
Karnataka Congress MLA Soumya Reddy, daughter of Ramalinga Reddy (Congress MLA who had tendered his resignation), will come to Bengaluru tomorrow and attend the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting, ANI reported.
"I don't have any kind of anxiety about the present political development. I don't want to discuss anything about politics," says Kumaraswamy.
All JDS ministers in the state government have resigned, much like Congress ministers a short while back.
ANI reports that the Cabinet will be restructured soon.
Kumaraswamy says the current crisis in the state will be resolved and that there is no need to worry about the future of his government.
Karnataka Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah confirms 21 party MLAs have resigned from ministerial posts voluntarily.
BJP lashes out, says the Congress-JDS government has lost all right to remain in power.
The trend of submitting resignations was started by Rahul Gandhi in Congress, it wasn't started by us: Rajnath Singh in Parliament.
Congress rakes up Karnataka crisis in Parliament.
BJP lashes out at accusations of horse trading. "Our party has nothing to do with what is happening in Karnataka. Our party has never indulged in horse trading," says Rajnath Singh.
A respite just refuses to come on the political horizon for the Congress-JDS combine as there are seven more MLAs from both parties who are scheduled to reach Mumbai.
The list of dissenting MLAs from both parties now threatens to increase, possibly spelling doom for Kumaraswamy's government.
MLA Nagesh, in his resignation letter, states that he is willing to support a BJP government if it is called for by the Governor:
BJP denies having any role in MLA Nagesh resigning. The state unit of the party says that Nagesh may also have been bitterly disappointed at how the JDS-Congress government has worked in the state, leading to his resignation.
"When Congress was ruling at the Centre, they were using the Governor’s office for their party. BJP has no culture of using Governor’s office," says R Ashok.
Karnataka minister and Independent MLA Nagesh resigns from his minister's post and has withdrawn support to the government. He becomes the 14th MLA to tender his resignation.
DK Suresh also blamed BJP for engineering the current political crisis in the state. "BJP national leaders are behind this. BJP people don’t want this government or any opposition party to rule in the state or in the country," he says.
All Karnataka Congress ministers are going to resign: DK Suresh, Congress MP tells news agency ANI
Karnataka Congress Legislature Party leader Siddharamaiah and Ministers UT Khader, Shivashankara Reddy, Venkataramanappa, Jayamala, MB Patil, Krishna Byre Gowda, Rajshekar Patil, Rajshekar Patil, DK Shivakumar have reached Dy CM G Parameshwara's residence: ANI
Deputy CM G Parameshwara says the breakfast meeting today with all Congress ministers in Karnataka to discuss way forward. "All of us may resign to accommodate the (dissenting) Congress MLAs (in the Karnataka cabinet)," he says. "If party says I have to resign, I will resign. The party will take a decision."
Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and rebel Congress MLA Ramalinga Reddy hold meeting at an undisclosed location in Bengaluru: ANI
News agency ANI has reported that a senior Congress leader in Karnataka has blamed Siddaramaiah for sabotaging the coalition government. Read full report here.
Congress has levelled serious charges against BJP for engineering the current political crisis in the state. Kharge said that the Centre has been directly involved.
BJP has hit back hard. Pralhad Joshi said it is Congress that has plotted against JDS and does not want Kumaraswamy to remain the CM.
Most of Sunday was highlighted by a series of meetings that Congress and JDS leaders held to find the best way to safeguard their coalition government in the state.
Significantly, Congress' DK Shivakumar - a minister in the Kumaraswamy-led government - had also met Deve Gowda.
Karnataka Congress MLA ST Somashekar has said that there is no possibility of taking back resignations.
"We are 10 MLAs here. A total 13 MLAs have submitted resignation to Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar and Governor Vajubhai Bala. We all are together," he said on Sunday night.
Determined to not take back their resignations, the 13 dissenting Karnataka MLAs from both Congress and the Janata Dal Secular have plunged the state politics into turmoil with the possibility of the HD Kumaraswamy-led government coming apart at the seams. The resignation of an independent MLA - Nagesh - from his ministerial post and withdrawing support to the government has made panic buttons ring loud and clear.
CM Kumaraswamy returned from a private visit to the United States on Sunday and held a series of meetings but all of these could not ensure an assured lifeline for either him or the 13-month old coalition government that has always been on shaky wicket. With most of the dissenting MLAs from both parties camped in Mumbai, the city's Sofitel Hotel has become quite the epicentre of political developments. A number of attempts have reportedly been made by both Congress and JDS to placate their respective MLAs - all to no avail.
Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara called for a breakfast meeting early Monday and it was eventually decided that the 21 Congress ministers in the government would resign. Former CM Siddaramiah claimed that the resignations were voluntary because it was in the best interest of the party. Later in the day all JDS ministers also tendered their resignation. Cabinet will be restructured soon. BJP, meanwhile, lashed out claiming that the state government had lost every right to remain in power.
BJP and Congress also clashed in Parliament where allegations of horse trading were made. Rajnath Singh led a solid defence and said that the BJP holds democratic values in high esteem and it is Rahul Gandhi who has started the trend of resignations in the Congress.
It is a political potboiler unfolding in Karnataka with no certainty regarding whether the current government will manage to brazen it out or will it be blown to smithereens.
Here are all the live and latest updates from the political turmoil in Karnataka: