If honest, resign immediately, Yeddy asks HDK

Bengaluru: Senior BJP Karnataka leader BS Yeddyurappa on Sunday demanded Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy to "resign immediately", claiming the ruling Congress-Janata Dal-Secular alliance no longer enjoyed a majority in the Assembly. The alliance has been thrown into disarray over the past 10 days with the resignation of a raft of legislators threatening to cancel its slim majority in the 224-seat Assembly.

"I demand that the Chief Minister if he is honest and cares for the democratic system, he should immediately resign or should move a motion seeking for trust vote," said Yeddyurappa, a three-time former chief minister.

"You (Kumaraswamy) don't have majority. So, let them (coalition) ask for confidence vote or resign immediately. Tomorrow in the Business Advisory Committee meeting I will advise same thing to Kumaraswamy and discuss," he added. Yeddyurappa's comment comes after the Chief Minister declared on Friday that he would seek a trust vote on the floor of the house and asked the Speaker to "fix a time". "I am ready for everything, I am not here to stick to power," Mr Kumaraswamy, who had earlier ruled out his resignation, added.

According to reports, the Chief Minister had proposed Wednesday as the day of the vote. However, no decision was taken because the opposition BJP did not attend the meeting.

The Karnataka coalition crisis has seen, so far, seen 16 legislators and two independents resign.

If their resignations are accepted, the coalition strength drops from 118 to 100 and will bring the majority mark in the assembly from 113 to 105. The BJP has 107, with the support of the two independents, will emerge as the majority alliance.

Congress strongman DK Shivakumar has been busy trying to woo the rebels back into the fold and expressed confidence his colleagues, whom he described as "our people" would "come back and save the government".

"I have confidence in all our MLAs. They have been elected from Congress and they have been there for a long period. They have fought like tigers in their domain. I think some good gesture will prevail," the Congress leader said, on the same day that Hoskote lawmaker MTB Nagaraj hopped on a plane to Mumbai, with Yeddyurappa's aide in tow, after having publicly withdrawn his resignation.

None of the resignations has so far been accepted by Karnataka Speaker Ramesh Kumar. The Supreme Court, approached by a group of 10 of the rebels, directed that status quo remain till it rules on constitutional matters on July 16.