Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy threatens to quit, says Congress MLAs ‘crossing the line’

Amid the row over alleged paoching of MLAs by the BJP, Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, who is running the coalition government with the Congress, on Monday threatened to quit, saying that the lawmakers of the Grand Old Party were "crossing the line".

"...If they want to continue with the same thing, I am ready to step down. They are crossing the line," the Karnataka chief minsiter said when asked that the Congress MLAs in Karnataka are saying that Siddaramaiah and not Kumaraswamy is their chief minister.

#WATCH: Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy says "...If they want to continue with the same thing, I am ready to step down. They are crossing the line", when asked 'Congress MLAs are saying that Siddaramaiah is their CM'.' pic.twitter.com/qwErh4aEq4

— ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2019

The stern warning from the Karnataka chief minister came at a time when the Congress and the JDS are discussing alliance for the coming Lok Sabha elections. According to the sources, the Congress and the JDS has not yet reached the consensus on seat sharing. The JDS is reportedly demanding 12 of the total 28 Lok Sabha seats but the Congress is not to give it more than four seats. The four seats the Congress was willing to give to JDS falls in the old Mysore region, where Kumaraswamy’s party has a strong base.

The development also came amid the ongoing political crisis in the state and both the ruling alliance and the Opposition BJP are trading accusations of poaching against each other.

On Saturday, Kumaraswamy had claimed that the “Operation Kamla” was still on and one of their MLAs was offered 'huge amount of money' by the BJP to switch sides. "Operation Kamala (Lotus) is still on. Last night they (BJP) offered one of our MLAs huge amount of money. You'll be surprised to know the amount. Our MLA told them he doesn't need any gift and not to try these things with him. This is how they are still working on poaching," he had said.

The BJP, however, rejected the charges, saying that whatever was happening in his party was an internal matter. "We aren't indulging in any Operation Kamala. Their MLAs are trying to go away from them due to their internal fight. It's their duty to keep them intact. They should stop giving baseless statements against us. We're 104 and 2 independent MLAs are also in opposition," BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa said.