By IANS
Bangalore : Upping the ante, Karnataka’s ruling Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) Friday decided to hold an assembly session Oct 18 in what appeared to be a challenge to its estranged partner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to press for early elections.
Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy held a cabinet meeting attended by only his party ministers – all 17 BJP ministers resigned Tuesday – and decided to approach the governor to summon the legislature Oct 18, apparently to prove his majority in the wake of his refusal to transfer power to the BJP as agreed to 20 months ago.
His deputy B.S. Yediyurappa of the BJP reacted angrily to Kumaraswamy’s move and said his party would come out with a list of charges against the JD-S in two days.
“If they want polls, we are ready. Let us go the people. They will decide who is right and who is not,” he told reporters before flying off to New Delhi to meet the party’s central leaders.
Kumaraswamy also flew to the national capital to attend the JD-S parliamentary board meeting.
The main opposition Congress, which has called a meeting of its legislators Saturday to frame its strategy, too met Governor Rameshwar Thakur to apprise him of the collapse of the administration and seeking his intervention.
“As of now we have briefed the governor on the situation. We are not considering the question of support to JD-S to remain in power,” Congress spokesperson V.S. Ugrappa told IANS when asked if his party would extend support to Kumaraswamy.
JD-S president and former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda, now in New Delhi for the party meeting, said that his party was ready for fresh elections. However he maintained that he would meet BJP president Rajnath Singh Saturday in New Delhi for talks on power transfer.