With the party rebels refusing to budge, the Congress on Tuesday decided to stage a dharna against the BJP in front of Mahatma Gandhi statue at Vidhana Soudha, accusing the saffron party of destabilising the coalition government.
All 10 rebel MLAs who have already resigned abstained from the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting convened by its leader Siddaramaiah on Tuesday. The H D Kumaraswamy-led coalition government was reduced to a minority on Monday following the withdrawal of support by two independent MLAs.
“The BJP has been trying to destabilise the coalition government from day one. This is the sixth attempt in this regard. This is being done as per the direction issued by Amit Shah (BJP president) and Narendra Modi (Prime Minister). This is anti-democratic and against the mandate of people. The BJP is offering money to poach MLAs,” Siddaramaiah charged.
“The CLP has decided to petition Assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar to disqualify the rebel MLAs for anti-party activities. It is clear that the MLAs have colluded with the BJP. We are requesting the Speaker to take action under Schedule 10 of Constitution,” Siddaramaiah told reporters.
On Monday, the Congress and the JD(S) got all their ministers to resign in a desperate, last-ditch attempt to save the government by luring rebel legislators back by offering them Cabinet positions. But the rebels, camping in Mumbai, refused to accept the offer by the coalition partners.