The Week India – July 21, 2019

38 THE WEEK • JULY 21, 2019

POLITICS

KARNATAKA

has failed in Karnataka,”

he said.

There is also specula-

tion that Siddaramaiah

is behind the coup as

he is feeling suffocated

in the coalition. MLAs

close to Siddaramaiah

blamed the interference

by the JD(S), especial-

ly by PWD Minister

H.D. Revanna, and the

non-allocation of funds

for their constituencies.

Munirathna said funds

were not given for development work

in his constituency. “I was not con-

sulted before finalising the detailed

report for the proposed elevated

corridor project. The coalition has

neglected the Bengaluru MLAs.”

Siddaramaiah loyalists, mean-

while, flirted with the idea of bring-

ing back their leader as chief minister

after offering Revanna the post of

deputy chief minister. The plan failed

to take off because of objections from

Deve Gowda, who hinted that he

would prefer Kharge, if a change was

indeed required.

Congress MPs have been aggres-

sive in the Lok Sabha on the issue,

putting the blame on the BJP. On

July 9, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury,

leader of the Congress in the Lok

Sabha, asked his MPs to raise slogans

in protest after Speaker Om Birla

denied him permission to speak on

the issue. Rahul Gandhi was among

the MPs who took part in the protest.

Surjewala blamed Prime Minister

Narendra Modi for the crisis, calling

the mass resignations “Modi Orches-

trated Defection in India”. Defence

Minister Rajnath Singh denied

the charge, saying the BJP did not

indulge in horse-trading. “My party

is committed to maintaining the

dignity of parliamentary democracy.

Rahul Gandhi has started the trend

of resignations in the Congress,” said

Singh.

It may not be easy for the BJP,

however, to deny its role in the crisis

as the rebels flew out of Bengaluru

on chartered flights and were seen

rubbing shoulders with BJP leaders

in Mumbai. Independent MLA H.

Nagesh, for instance, was escorted

by Yeddyurappa’s personal assistant

N.R. Santosh on a private jet.

In a bid to woo the rebels back,

Shivakumar flew to Mumbai on July

10, but he was denied permission by

the police from entering the hotel

where the rebels were staying, citing

a complaint by the MLAs, who said

they feared for their safety. Shiva-

kumar and former Mumbai Con-

gress chief Milind Deora were later

detained by the police for violating

prohibitory orders.

The rebels moved Supreme Court

on July 10, complaining that the

speaker acted in a partisan matter

and was deliberately not accepting

their resignations. A bench headed

by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said it

would consider taking up the issue

the next day. Kumaraswamy has con-

vened a cabinet meeting the same

day, and is likely to decide whether

to step down or pursue the rebels. A

final resolution to the crisis, howev-

er, is likely only after the legislature

session begins on July 12 and the

speaker orders a floor test.

WITH SONI MISHRA

There is also

speculation that

Siddaramaiah is

behind the coup as he

is feeling suffocated

in the coalition.

BITTER FEUD

BJP MLAs protest after rebel

MLA K. Sudhakar was allegedly

held captive by Congress lead-

ers after his resignation

BHANU PRAKASH CHANDRA