New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved President's rule in Karnataka after state Governor Rameshwar Thakur sent a report to President Pratibha Patil, recommending imposition of Central rule in the state in view of the current constitutional crisis.
President Pratibha Patil gave her assent to imposition of President's Rule in Karnataka later on Tuesday.
Briefing journalists after the Cabinet meeting, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the Cabinet has, however, decided to keep the Assembly in suspended animation.
He said state Governor Rameshwar Thakur had recommended either to dissolve the Assembly or put it in suspended animation. He said President's Rule will be imposed in the state in accordance with the Bommai Judgement
According to Rashtrapati Bhavan sources, President Patil received the Governor's report earlier in the day, which was then forwarded to the Cabinet for a final decision.
The HD Kumaraswamy government was reduced to a minority following the withdrawal of support by the BJP. Subsequently, Kumaraswamy tendered his resignation and that of his Cabinet to Governor Rameshwar Thakur on Monday afternoon. Later, all JD(S) MLAs too resigned from the Assembly.
Kumaraswamy maintained that political compulsions had acted against his conscience on the power transfer issue.
He claimed that he was offered three more months in office, but he refused the proposed formula.
"I suggested to my legislators that by accepting this formula, I can't run the government. I don't want to get a bad name in public. Instead of accepting the new formula, I will vacate the post and we can support the BJP friend to run the government," he said.
In the same breath, he also accused both the Congress and the BJP of attempting to split the JD(S) by wooing party legislators to gain numbers and form the next government.
Kumaraswamy's resignation culminated days of hectic political activity after the JD(S) refused to transfer power to its alliance partner BJP as per a 20-month-old power-sharing agreement.
After the BJP withdrew support to the JD(S) Government, the Congress leaders put pressure on the Union Government to dismiss the Kumaraswamy government and dissolve the Assembly immediately, paving way for a mid-term poll in the state.
The BJP, which launched a state-wide protest against the JD(S) on the power-transfer issue, has, meanwhile, cut short the programme in the wake of Kumaraswamy's resignation.
BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad admitted in New Delhi on Tuesday that the BJP and JD(S) were still in talks with each other for a possible power transfer even hours before Kumaraswamy resigned.
Comments
0 comment