Bangalore: A high-octane political drama continued in Karnataka over claims of alleged ‘Operation Lotus’ as the Congress called for a meeting of legislators on January 18, in what is being called a show of strength. While the Congress-JD(S) claimed that the coalition government in the state is stable, BJP gathered 100 of their MLAs and kept them at a resort in Gurugram.
The ruling Congress-JD(S) claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) attempts to topple the coalition government in Karnataka have failed. “All the Congress legislators are with us and everything is all right in the party. Some legislators may be away but they will be back in Bengaluru soon,” Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara was quoted as saying by news agency IANS.
The BJP, on the other hand, has kept its state MLAs in a luxury resort in Gurugram. BJP leader Murlidhar Rao, General Secretary in charge of Karnataka, however, said that the government would ‘fall’ due to ‘internal rivalry’ and not because BJP was attempting to pull it down.
Congress leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called for a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting on January 18. He warned that anti-defection law will be used against those who fail to attend the meeting and it will be assumed that member himself has decided to leave primary membership of party- he said.
Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said that the Congress-JD(S) combine has been functioning well. “Our coalition government is running smoothly. I am relaxed. We are in touch with all our legislators and have their support,” Kumaraswamy told reporters- IANS said.
Meanwhile, Congress’ central leadership expressed confidence that all the 118 MLAs were intact and questioned why BJP MLAs were locked up in a resort in Gurugram. In the 225-member Assembly, Congress has 80 legislators, JD(S) 37 and BJP 104.
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