Amidst the confusion over power transfer, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy fired a new salvo at the estranged coalition partner, the BJP, by convening an emergency meeting of the Cabinet on Friday.

The meeting has been convened at a time when all the BJP ministers have submitted their resignation letters to the chief minister in protest against the reneging of the power transfer agreement by the JD(S).

The Cabinet meeting notice has been issued to all the ministers including those from the BJP camp. However, it is going to be an all-JD(S) affair at the Cabinet on Friday as the BJP has decided against attending the meeting.  However, the hurriedly convened meeting has come as a shock to the BJP. The BJP ministers will be holding their own meeting, where Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa will brief them about the deliberation at the party’s parliamentary board meeting held in New Delhi on Thursday.

According to sources, while only three “routine” items have been listed on the Cabinet agenda. Adecision to convene an emergent session of the state legislature is likely to be taken. The meeting, sources said, may also review some decisions taken by the coalition government.
 
The monsoon session of the legislature was prorogued last month to pave way for the promulagation of ordinances.
Hence the Cabinet will have to meet again to reconvene the legislature and then seek the permission of the Governor for the same.

Floor test
There are also talks about Mr Kumaraswamy offering to prove his strength on the floor of the House. Summoning the House at this stage would only add to the prevailing confusion. In all probability, the session would be held on October 18. The BJP, so far, has been non-committal on withdrawing its support to the JD(S). The move is seen as a strategy by the JD(S) to pressurise the BJP and make them repent for having tendered their resignations.

Meanwhile, as if to prove a point that the the BJP ministers’ resignation has not cast a shadow on the functioning of the government, Mr Kumaraswamy convened a meeting of heads of various departments at Vidhana Soudha to discuss issues related to administration.

At the meeting, Mr Kumaraswamy is learnt to have told the department heads to carry on their duties and that there should be no delay in release of funds for development.