I have an option to exit: Dharam Singh
by KG Vasuki

    Bangalore: Karnataka Chief Minister N Dharam Singh on Friday said that he still has the 'option to exit' from office before the vote of confidence against his coalition government takes place on January 27. Talking to reporters here, Singh said, "I cannot take individual decisions. I have to wait for the high command's permission. But the high command had not given any direction." Dharam Singh also confirmed that he had had discussions with the Janata Dal (S) leader and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, whose son HD Kumaraswamy Gowda had revolted against him along with a majority of the party MLAs to stake a claim to form the next government in Karnataka.

   Commenting on the forthcoming vote of confidence, Dharam Singh optimistically said: "A miracle can happen." Singh further said that he would be attending the All India Congress Committee session in Hyderabad only on January 23, which is scheduled to be start from January 21. On Thursday, Singh told reporters that "I will not step down" and also clarified that he was not holding any negotiations with Kumaraswamy. The current political equation in the 224-strong Karnataka Assembly is that the Congress-JD(S)-CPM faction has 113 seats as opposed to the 126 that the BJP-JD(S) combine has. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi were informed of the crisis being faced by Dharam Singh Government. The meeting of the Congress Core Group took place after Manmohan Singh yesterday night reviewed the situation with Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister Shivraj Patil. Political secretary to the Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Ahmed Patel was also present at the meeting.

   BJP delegation met Karnataka Governor T N Chaturvedi on Thursday morning and had urged him to advise Chief Minister N Dharam Singh to resign, and if refused, he should be dismissed. BJP and JD (S) legislators in Karnataka and Naidu then commenced a protest outside the Governor's official residence to force the issue. They had also announced plans to boycott the Governor's address to the joint session of the State legislature. BJP leader B S Yediyurappa said that the Dharam Singh Government had lost the 'moral right' to continue in office and the dharna was in protest against the 'government's attitude and the Chief Minister's attitude'. According to informed Congress party sources, Congress leader AK Antony had just revealed that HD Kumaraswamy can assume charge as the Chief Minister of Karnataka and lead the present combine if his faction of JD(S) dissociates itself from the BJP. On Wednesday, the Kumaraswamy JD (S) faction and BJP had agreed to a power-sharing arrangement for the remaining 40-months of the present government, with the former being allowed to exercise the first chance to rule the state. Chief Minister Dharam Singh on Wednesday night sought time till January 31 from Governor T N Chaturvedi to prove his majority on the floor of the House.

BJP asks for vote of confidence tomorrow in Karnataka

     New Delhi: Fearing further horse-trading by the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today demanded that the vote of confidence in Karnataka assembly should take place on Saturday instead of January 27. Senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu who returned from Karnataka after an agreement with Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy to topple the Congress-led government in the state, told newspersons that the Karnataka Governor T N Chaturvedi should issue fresh directions for vote of confidence and the Karnataka Chief Minister N Dharam Singh should be asked to take a vote of confidence on Saturday instead of January 27, fearing any further delay could be used by the Congress for horse-trading. After a BJP national council meeting here Naidu said, "We do not understand why Dharam Singh has been given a weeks time to prove majority when a vote of confidence could be taken immediately with the Assembly being in session". Naidu said that the Governor giving Dharam Singh so much time was undemocratic. "It may give the Congress an ample amount of time to attempt horse-trading. Therefore, we want that the vote should be held on Saturday itself," Naidu added.

    Meanwhile, H.D. Kumaraswamy defended his revolt against his father and former Prime Minister H.D.Deve Gowda by saying in Bangalore that the party is more important than his family. Kumaraswamy asserted he had chosen to stay away from his father, as he does not want emotions to influence his recent decisions. He further added that he wanted to put an end to the humiliation his party workers and ministers were subjected to at the hands of the Congress. Earlier in the day, Dharam Singh had said that he still has the option to exit from office before the vote of confidence against his coalition government takes place on January 27. Talking to newspersons, Singh said, "I cannot take individual decisions. I have to wait for the high command's permission. But the high command had not given any direction." Commenting on the forthcoming vote of confidence, Dharam Singh optimistically said: "A miracle can happen." On Thursday, Singh told reporters that "I will not step down" and also clarified that he was not holding any negotiations with Kumaraswamy. The current political equation in the 224-strong Karnataka Assembly is that the Congress-JD(S)-CPM faction has 113 seats as opposed to the 126 that the BJP-JD(S) combine has. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi were informed of the crisis being faced by Dharam Singh Government. The meeting of the Congress Core Group took place after Manmohan Singh reviewed the situation with Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister Shivraj Patil. Political secretary to the Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Ahmed Patel was also present at the meeting. BJP delegation met Karnataka Governor T N Chaturvedi on Thursday morning and had urged him to advise Chief Minister N Dharam Singh to resign, and if refused, he should be dismissed. BJP and JD (S) legislators in Karnataka and Naidu then commenced a protest outside the Governor's official residence to force the issue. They had also announced plans to boycott the Governors address to the joint session of the State legislature. BJP leader B S Yediyurappa said that the Dharam Singh Government had lost the 'moral right' to continue in office and the dharna was in protest against the 'government's attitude and the Chief Minister's attitude'.

   According to informed Congress party sources, Congress leader A.K.Antony had just revealed that H D Kumaraswamy can assume charge as the Chief Minister of Karnataka and lead the present combine if his faction of JD(S) dissociates itself from the BJP. On Wednesday, the Kumaraswamy JD (S) faction and BJP had agreed to a power-sharing arrangement for the remaining 40-months of the present government, with the former being allowed to exercise the first chance to rule the state. Chief Minister Dharam Singh on Wednesday night sought time till January 31 from Governor T N Chaturvedi to prove his majority on the floor of the house.

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