A visibly angry former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, reacting to Speaker K G Bopaiah's departure on a foreign tour, said he would lead a delegation of 14 BJP MLAs to meet Governor H R Bhardwaj in the evening and request him to direct the Speaker to return to Bangalore immediately and accept the resignations of the BJP MLAs.
As the Speaker was away, the BJP MLAs supporting Mr Yeddyurappa were unable to hand over their resignation letters from the Assembly to the Speaker. Technically, resignation letters from the Assembly can be accepted only if they are handed over to the Speaker personally.
Mr Yeddyurappa told reporters that there was a constitutional crisis in the state as the Jagadish Shettar Government does not have a majority. He alleged that the Speaker had gone abroad on the directions of the Chief Minister. He also called upon the people of the State to boycott all public functions of the Chief Minister and the Ministers in his Cabinet.
Child's play?
Meanwhile, Governor H R Bhardwaj, speaking on the sidelines of the State Police Women's Conference, dismissed the political developments in the State as "games that children play".
"This business of legislators resigning or threatening to resign every other day has come to resemble a "game that children play" (bacchon ka khel)," Mr Bharadwaj said. "This is what it has come to. They (the political leaders) must remember that the people of Karnataka are watching," he said.
Mr Bharadwaj said, the Chief minister met him on Tuesday and assured him that the 'government is stable and safe". "He has told me that he has the adequate support and that the government will complete its term," he said.
Further, he said that he would not intervene in this matter unless there are any legal or procedural lapses.
