'Cong-JD(S) need not fear, no plan to destabilize govt'

The Congress and JD(S) need not fear as the BJP will not try to destabilize their coalition government, BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa said on Saturday.

BJP legislators who were lodged in a hotel in Gurugram for the past couple of days have been asked to return to Karnataka.

“We will not try to destabilize the government. The Congress and JD(S) need not fear. We will work as an Opposition,” Yeddyurappa said. “All our MLAs have been asked to come back by noon. Our work now is to tour drought-hit areas and respond to people’s needs,” he said.

In a tweet, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah welcomed Yeddyurappa’s decision to have BJP MLAs visit drought-hit areas. “He has also said that the BJP will not try to destabilize the government and that it will work as an Opposition, asking the Congress and JD(S) leaders not to fear. Let him walk the talk and retain the faith of the people of the state,” Siddaramaiah said.

Karnataka’s political situation has been precarious for the past one week amid fear that he was trying to tap into the disgruntlement in the Congress-JD(S) camp to poach some legislators, which has been dubbed as Operation Kamala.

The Congress, meanwhile, has convened a meeting later in the day at the Bidadi resort where the party’s legislators are kept. At least eight Congress MLAs are feared to have entered into a commitment with the BJP.

Also, the party has decided to issue notices to four of their legislators - Ramesh Jarkiholi, Mahesh Kumatahalli, Umesh Jadhav and B Nagendra - who did not attend the CLP meet on Friday. “The party high command will decide on what needs to be done to those four,” Congress MP DK Suresh told reporters. Suresh and his brother, Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar, are overseeing the arrangements at the resort where the party’s legislators are holed up.

“One has to remove a thorn with a thorn. That’s why we’ve come to a resort. It’s not that we don’t trust our legislators. Also, we will not do any counter operation (to poach BJP MLAs),” Suresh said.