Karnataka political crisis: Mallikarjun Kharge sees BJP’s hand in MLAs resignations

A group of resigned MLAs flown from HAL airport in Bangaluru to Mumbai and provided accommodation at a five-star hotel.

Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge.

A day after 12 MLAs of the ruling JD(S)-Congress alliance submitted their resignation letters , former Union Minister and veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge sees the role of BJP Central leaders in the development and efforts to topple the Karnataka government.

The BJP had been making all-out efforts to engineer factions to bring down the JD(S)-Congress government in Karnataka by shifting MLAs to Mumbai, Mr. Kharge told presspersons in Bengaluru on July 7. “How it is possible to arrange a special flight to Mumbai without the support of the BJP’s Central leaders,” he asked.

A group MLAs who resigned were flown from the HAL airport in Bengaluru to Mumbai on the evening of July 6 and provided accommodation at a five-star hotel.

Mr. Kharge said BJP leaders, such as Home Minister Amit Shah, had been making efforts to weaken the non-BJP State governments. The BJP had been making attempts to destabilise the West Bengal government. “Where is democracy in the country?”

 

“The Central government led by the BJP has no confidence in democracy. In nearly 13-14 States such as West Bengal, Goa, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Bihar, Jharkhand, the BJP engineered defections,” he alleged and added that the BJP had been making efforts to topple the H.D. Kumaraswamy government since it was formed last year.

State Congress MLAs cited several reasons for their resignations, including not getting developmental works in their constituency etc, Mr. Kharge said.

Meanwhile, Congress MLA Muniratna who tendered his resignation to the Assembly, blasted PWD Minister H.D. Revanna of the JD(S) for the resignation of the Congress MLAs representing Bengaluru. Neglect of the city’s development works and infrastructure by the Kumaraswamy government was the major reason for MLAs resignations, Mr. Muniratna said.

 

City Congress MLAs — S.T. Somashekar, Ramalinga Reddy Byrathi Basavaraj and Muniratna — submitted resignation letters to the Speaker’s office on Saturday. The JD(S) MLA Gopalaiah, MLA representing Mahalakshmi Layout, too had submitted his resignation.