By IANS
Bangalore : Karnataka’s 17 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers, including Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, resigned from the state’s coalition government late Tuesday after Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy refused to transfer power to the party on the conclusion of his 20-month term.
After a three-hour meeting, the BJP ministers met Kumaraswamy at his residence and handed over the one-line resignation letters, with a covering note from the party’s state president D.V. Sadananda Gowda, explaining the reasons for quitting the ministry and reminding the chief minister that he was morally bound to demit office after his 20-month tenure ended and transfer power to the BJP under Yediyurappa’s leadership.
A BJP official told IANS the chief minister accepted the resignation letters but advised the BJP ministers to wait till Oct 5, when the political affairs committee of his Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) would meet in Delhi and decide on the transfer of power.
Kumaraswamy is reported to have assured the BJP ministers that he would transfer power Oct 5 and advised them not to precipitate matters.
The BJP ministers heaved a sigh of relief when Kumaraswamy told them that he had, per se, no hesitation in hand over power but sought time to do so as his party had to take the final decision.
In a day of hectic political developments, after Kumaraswamy rejected the BJP’s ultimatum to resign and hand over charge to Yediyurappa, the BJP ministers, legislators, MPs and state office-bearers met for over three hours and unanimously decided to quit the ministry en masse as the chief minister had failed to redeem his pledge.
As per the accord between the coalition partners , Kumaraswamy was supposed to demit office after 20 months and hand over charge to Yediyurappa Oct 3 for the remaining 20 months of the five-year term.
“Since we have not heard from either Kumaraswamy or the JD-S till now, all the 17 ministers have decided to resign, explaining the reasons for leaving the government,” BJP vice president Yashwant Sinha, who is in-charge of affairs in Karnataka, told reporters.
Though the BJP wants the coalition arrangement to continue for another 20 months, Sinha said it was up to Kumaraswamy and the JD-S to first honour the agreement to transfer power after his term ended.
“Our decision to quit the ministry is to honour the agreement in letter and spirit. Our resignations are meant to enable Kumaraswamy resign from the chief ministership and inform the state governor (Rameshwar Thakur) that his party would support the BJP to govern the state for the next 20 months,” Sinha pointed out.
Refuting Kumaraswamy’s charge that the BJP did not convey its deadline decision to him directly and was talking only through the media, Sinha said senior BJP ministers led by Yediyurappa had already conveyed to the chief minister Monday before the cabinet meeting that he was bound to quit office Tuesday and facilitate smooth transfer of power.
“We have kept our word and followed the coalition dharma of first supporting Kumaraswamy and his party in forming this coalition government, with a tacit understanding that after the end of 20 months, the BJP would assume power under Yediyurappa’s leadership,” he asserted.
Taken aback by the BJP ministers quitting en masse, JD-S ministers and legislators went into a huddle and decided to leave the final decision on power transfer to party chief H.D. Deve Gowda.
Deve Gowda told reporters that the party’s national executive meeting would discuss the issue in Bangalore Oct 4 and the party’s political affairs committee would meet in Delhi the next day and decide whether to continue the alliance with the BJP to transfer power and avoid mid-term elections in the state.