New Delhi/Bangalore: Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, whose government is battling a political crisis after 13 MLAs anounced to quit their assembly membership, on Monday met party chief Rajnath Singh who expressed confidence that the state government will complete its tenure.
The BJP government in Karnataka also launched a counter attack on the the 13 party MLAs by deciding to seek their disqualification for ‘anti-party’ activities.
Sources in Karnataka BJP said a petition would be filed with Assembly Speaker K G Bopahiah, seeking their disqualification on the charge ‘anti-party’ activities.
In the national capital, Shettar met Singh and discussed the future course of action in the wake of MLAs loyal to B S Yeddyurappa announcing their decision to resign.
Emerging from the meeting, Shettar said, “Till now, no MLA has resigned. So, we have to wait and see what is going on…. Let us see.”
The Chief Minister, however, said that his meeting with Singh was a “courtesy call” after he became the BJP chief and he, as the leader of the state legislative party, had come to take the new leader’s “wishes” for Karnataka.
Sources said both the leaders discussed the future of the first BJP government in south India.
Asked about the crisis in the state, both Singh and Shettar expressed confidence that the BJP government would complete its full term. “There is no crisis in Karnataka Government. Our Karnataka Government will definitley complete its full term,” Singh told reporters before the meeting.
Asked whether he has any suggestion to the Chief Minister, he said, there was no need to given any suggestion to Shettar.
“He is very intelligent, very sharp and very confident chief minister,” Singh said.
Shettar, who reached here by a special flight last evening from Hubli, left for Bangalore immediately after the meeting.
Singh had on last Friday asked Shettar not to compromise on the BJP’s principles even if it threatens the survival of the government in the southern state.
BJP has said it is confident of overcoming the crisis. Thirteen MLAs loyal to Karnataka Janata Party chief Yeddyurappa had last Wednesday met Speaker K G Bopaiah to submit their resignation from Assembly membership.
As Bopaiah was not present, they had later submitted copies of their resignation letters to Governor H R Bhardwaj. In the 225-member Karnataka Assembly, BJP has a strength of 117 excluding the Speaker and requires 113 for a simple majority.
Congress has 71 members and JDS 26. There are seven Independents and two vacancies. One member is nominated.
Bhardwaj had stated on Jan 26 that the Jagadish Shettar government still enjoyed a majority and as leader of the BJP legislature party, it was left left to him to take action on the issue of resignation of the 13 MLAs. (PTI)