Karnataka: Two More Congress Legislators Submit Resignations To Assembly Speaker

BENGALURU: In a fresh jolt to the wobbly Congress-JDS coalition government in Karnataka, Two more Congress legislators — M.T.B. Nagaraj and D. Sudhakar — on Wednesday submitted their resignations to state Assembly Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar, taking the number of disgruntled MLAs who have put in their papers to 16. “The two legislators submitted their resignations to the Speaker at his office in the state secretariat,” IANS quoted an official as saying. The Speaker is, however, yet to accept the resignations. The ruling coalition faces the threat of losing majority in the Assembly if the resignations are accepted as its current tally is 116 in the 224-member House. Confirming the resignations, Speaker Ramesh Kumar told reporters, "Yes, Sudhakar and M T B Nagaraj have resigned." They handed over their resignations at the Speaker's chamber in Vidhana Soudha, the State secretariat. After tendering his resignation, Nagaraj told reporters that he was "fed up" with politics and wished to retire from public life. "I don't want any ministerial position or anything. I am fed up with politics," Nagaraj said. Nagaraj and Sudhakar, who is State Pollution Control Board Chairman, came to the Speaker's office at about 4 pm and handed over resignation in their official letterhead to him. Of the 16 MLAs who have resigned, 13 are from Congress and three from JD(S). The coalition's total strength is 116 (Congress-78, JD(S)-37 and BSP-1), besides the Speaker. With the support of the two independents, who Monday resigned from the ministry, the BJP has 107 MLAs in the 224-member House, where the half-way mark is 113. If the resignations of the 16 MLAs are accepted, the coalition's tally will be reduced to 100. Meanwhile, Senior BJP leader and Union minister D V Sadananda Gowda said his party is ready to obey the Karnataka governor's any constitutional direction, including a floor-test, as the ruling coalition inched towards a collapse following resignation of more than a dozen MLAs. Asked if the party is ready for a floor-test, he said, "It is the prerogative power of the governor to issue direction to have a floor test. Any constitutional direction given by the governor, we are certainly prepared to obey it."