By IANS
Bangalore : H.D. Kumaraswamy quit as Karnataka chief minister Monday evening, and the governor is learnt to have recommended President’s Rule in the state late in the night.
Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), who lost majority as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pulled out of the 20-month-old alliance after his refusal to honour word on power transfer to it, met Governor Rameshwar Thakur late Monday evening and submitted his resignation.
He was accompanied by Home Minister M.P. Prakash, Energy Minister H.D. Revanna and Transport Minister N. Cheluvaraya Swamy.
According to sources, the governor is learnt to have recommended central rule in the state.
Earlier, Kumaraswamy told JD-S legislators that if they decide to support a BJP-led government he would go along with them.
He reportedly became emotional telling the legislators that he was ready to give up his post on Oct 2 as agreed by him 20 months back and make way for the BJP but put off the move to thwart the Congress’ attempt to exploit the situation and bring the state under direct central rule.
Amid reports that the JD-S may back a BJP-led government in a damage control exercise, Congress leaders called on Thakur for the second time during the day and urged him to bring the state under direct central rule, party sources said.
The rethink in JD-S, whose refusal to hand over chief ministership to BJP on Oct 3 forced it to pull out of the alliance on Sunday, was attributed to the Congress demand for immediate imposition of President’s rule and sacking of Kumaraswamy if he does not quit on his own.
Within hours after a Congress delegation met Thakur to inform him that the party will not support the Kumaraswamy ministry and sought central rule, BJP’s B.S. Yediyurappa rushed to Bangalore from Tumkur, where he had launched the party’s campaign to expose JD-S ‘betrayal’.
Yediyurappa, who was deputy chief minister and was to take over from Kumaraswamy on Oct 3, held a meeting with some of his party leaders at a secret place following feelers from JD-S that it is open to supporting him now.
However BJP leader R. Ashok, who was health minister in the Kumaraswamy ministry, told reporters late in the night that Yediyurappa came to Bangalore to discuss legal issues in case the governor gives the party a chance to form a government and not for talks with JD-S leaders.
“We have heard rumours that BJP and JD-S are trying to come together again. It is too premature for us to comment,” a senior Congress leader told IANS.
“We will have to wait for governor’s decision,” the Congress leader said when asked whether his party will oppose any BJP-JD-S move to form a government again or urge the governor to give the party a chance to try to form one.
Kumaraswamy’s father and JD-S president H.D. Deve Gowda declined to comment on speculation about his party’s possible tie up with BJP.