As Karnataka crisis drags on, HD Kumaraswamy claims Congress-JDS coalition ‘going strong’

Amid an ongoing political crisis in Karnataka, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Thursday claimed that the Congress-JDS coalition in the state is going strong despite the fact that opposition is desperately trying to destabilise the government. 

“Congress-JDS coalition in the state is going strong despite the efforts to destabilize. We are confident and prepared for a smooth and fruitful conduct of legislative sessions,” the chief minister tweeted.

The 13-month-old government in Karnataka is facing its worst political crisis after a string of resignations by 16 legislators who were part of the ruling coalition.

Meanwhile, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on the petitions of the 10 rebel Congress-JDS MLAs and the Karnataka Assembly Speaker on their resignations for its next move against the coalition government in the 10-day monsoon session of the state legislature beginning on Friday afternoon, a party official said here.

"We are waiting for the Supreme Court verdict on the petitions of the rebel legislators and the Speaker's plea for more time to decide on their resignations as hearing on them is scheduled later in the day for our next move in the Assembly," Bharatiya Janata Party spokesman G. Madhusudana said.

The coalition's strength in the 224-member Assembly stands at 118 (Congress-78, JDS - 37, BSP-1 and Independents-2), besides the Speaker. This includes MLAs who have resigned, as their resignations are yet to be accepted by the Speaker. The BJP has 105 MLAs in the House, where halfway mark is 113.