Bengaluru: Rejecting Congress's charge that the BJP was behind the resignation of its two MLAs, the saffron party's Karnataka unit chief BS Yeddyurappa on Tuesday said it was a ploy to hide "differences" within the ruling party.
Yeddyurappa's comments even as Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara sought to blame the BJP for the development and said a cabinet sub-committee has been formed to look into the issue of land to JSW Steel as flagged by one of the legislators.
Congress MLAs Anand Singh and Ramesh Jarkiholi sent their resignations to the assembly speaker on Monday, dealing a blow to the 13-month old HD Kumaraswamy government that has been battling dissidence.
Singh, a former BJP member who joined the Congress ahead of the assembly elections last year, said he decided to resign over his demands, including creation of a separate Vijayangar district and cancellation of the nod for sale of 3,667 acres of land to JSW Steel in mine-rich Ballari district.
A day after the two MLAs sent in their resignations, giving a jolt to the wobbly JD(S)-Congress government, Yeddyurappa also said the BJP has no plans yet to move a no-confidence motion in the Monsoon Session of the state assembly commencing July 12.
"We never said we will carry out any 'operation' against the Congress or the JD(S). We had said some disgruntled (MLAs) may come out," he said, accusing state Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao of trying to divert attention from the differences among his party leaders by seeking to blame the BJP for the resignations.
On Congress leaders threatening a "reverse operation" against the BJP, Yeddyurappa said they had been saying this for the last three months and dared them to carry it out.
"Let them do it...have we said don't do it? They have been saying this for the last three months, none of us will move. We are all together, 105 BJP MLAs are united," he said.
Rao had accused the BJP of misusing power and using central agencies to "pressure and blackmail" MLAs in a bid to destabilise the government. He had said Congress too had the ability to conduct a "reverse operation" but had not done it.
"We will not sit silently. If they are involved in such a thing, we also have the opportunity to hit back. We are quite because we don't want that kind of politics. If they continue, we will respond in the way we want," Rao had said.
Replying to a question, Yeddyurappa denied being in contact with any disgruntled legislators of the Congress or the JD(S).
Asked whether the BJP had a plan to move a no confidence motion against the government in the state assembly, Yeddyurappa there was no such plan yet. "There is no question of it. Our legislature party is yet to meet. Based on the political situation we will take a decision," he said.
Singh said, "If land to JSW Steel was an issue then he should have spoken to us. We have constituted a cabinet sub-committee. It has to submit a report to the cabinet."
He, however, clarified that he had not spoken to the two MLAs.
The resignations of the MLAs came at a time when Kumaraswamy was away in the US on a private visit, shocking the Congress whose leaders held a meeting Monday to take stock of the situation.
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