With the JD(S) deciding on Monday to take a U-turn on the issue of continuing support to the BJP-led coalition government in Karnataka, the hopes of the saffron party to successfully run its first government in South India was dashed, as chief minister BS Yeddyurappa resigned minutes before the actual voting took place on the floor of the Assembly.
Karnataka Governor Rameshwar Thakur recommends President’s Rule in the state. He accepted the resignation of Yeddyurappa and asks him to continue in office till alternate arrangements are made.
The eight-day long government collapsed as the coalition partners could not reconcile to the 12-point ?MoU? put forward by JD(S) president and former prime minister HD Devegowda.
Though Gowda?s exact mission was not known, sources in the party did not rule out the possibility of his making effort to form a government with Congress.
The crisis came to the fore as BJP refused to accept JD(S) demands to sign a power-sharing deal alloting plum ministerial portfolios and stuck its stand till the end.
Interestingly, even after the JD(S) legislature party decided to withdraw support to the government early in the afternoon the chief minister went ahead with the trust vote and moved the motion of confidence on the floor of the assembly hoping a split in the supporting party.
Terming it as another ?betrayal?, as BJP president Rajnath Singh put it after the fall of the government in the state, Devegowda said, the real reason for the his party?s decision was that Yeddyurappa did not want to agree to the 12-point MoU mooted by his party to share power.
JD(S) decided to vote against the trust vote also ??because Yeddyurappaji wanted to take Sriramulu (former minister) back into the cabinet??, Devegowda added.
Yeddyurappa, sworn in CM on November 12, announced his decision to quit and submitted his resignation to Governor.
The JD(S) decision first to offer an unconditional support to BJP and then withdrawal in just a week?s time is seen as a deft move by Devegowda to take sheen out of the high voltage ?betrayal? campaign launched by BJP in the state after the collapse of the first round of deal between the two parties.
JD(S) tricked the saffron party into power, as it was desperate to have its first government in South India and then on Monday when it felt that the party was absolved of the tag of ?betrayers?, brought down the BJP government
Meanwhile, the Congresslashed down the BJP for ?its lust for power?. ?It was an unholy alliance of the two opportunists,? party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said adding that in it’s the worst form of ?political theatrics? in which ??BJP School of Drama?? beat ?National School of Drama? on many counts. But, though the entertainment was free of cost, people of Karnataka suffered the most, he added.