Pressure mounts on Federal Ministers from Karnataka to quit

Even as Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee rejected Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting M H Ambarish’s resignation from the Parliament on “technical grounds”, pressure has begun to mount on the remaining three Federal Ministers from Karnataka to emulate Ambarish and lend support the cause of the state in the Cauvery water dispute.

Several activists of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike or Karnataka Protection Forum gathered in front of the residence of Federal Minister for Transport and Highways K H Muniyappa in Bangalore yesterday and held a demonstration seeking his resignation from the Federal Government.

The activists led by Vedike President K Narayankumar Gowda shouted slogans against Muniyappa for his continuation in the Government despite the “monumental injustice” caused to Karnataka by the Federal Government and the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal. Narayankumar Gowda even urged Federal Minister of State for Planning and Statistics M V Rajashekaran and Federal Minister of State for Labour Oscar Fernandes to come out of the Government and join the protests.

Speaking to reporters, Muniyappa said he was prepared to take all necessary steps to secure justice to farmers of Karnataka. However, he did not give a categorical assurance to the Kannada activists that he would resign from the Ministry. “I will hold discussions with other leaders from Karnataka and take an appropriate decision. We will have to debate whether the cause of the state can be better served by resigning or continuing in the Government”, he said.

The Kannada activists have not only sought the resignation of Federal Ministers, but also all the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members elected from Karnataka in a bid to bring pressure on the Federal Government and prevent the gazette notification of the Cauvery verdict, which has allocated 419 tmc feet of water to Tamil Nadu and 270 tmc feet to Karnataka.

Meanwhile, a meeting of all Members of the Parliament from Karnataka was held at the Legislators’ Home in Bangalore yesterday to chalk out their future course of action on the Cauvery issue. Former MP and Cauvery Farmers’ Protection Forum convener G Made Gowda had convened the meeting.

The meeting is also expected to weigh the pros and cons of Members of Parliament submitting their resignation en-masse.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambarish’s sudden decision to resign from the Ministry and the Parliament on Wednesday had sparked a flurry of activities in Karnataka.

According to information reaching here, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee had rejected Ambarish’s resignation, as it was not in the proper format. Ambarish, who represents the Cauvery heartland of Mandya in Karnataka, had even mentioned the reasons behind the resignation, which was not acceptable to the office of the Lok Sabha speaker. “A resignation letter should be simple letter informing the Speaker that he is resigning from the Lok Sabha. A resignation letter should not mention the reason”, said an official source.