JD (S)-BJP to meet to resolve crisis plaguing coalition Government

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has convened a meeting of the co-ordination committee of the coalition partners JD (S) and BJP to defuse the crisis plaguing the Government ahead of the scheduled transfer of power in October this year.

The differences between the JD (S) and BJP had come to a head on Thursday when the BJP Ministers in the coalition threatened to quit en-masse from the Cabinet, taking umbrage over Kumaraswamy’s remarks that the JD (S) had lost its secular credibility after aligning with the BJP.

The BJP Ministers led by Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who had stayed away from the Cabinet meeting at Vidhana Soudha for almost 90 minutes, were convinced to attend the meeting after much cajoling.

Amid the high drama, the BJP not only accused the JD (S) of violating the coalition ethics, but also expressed serious displeasure over the frequent transfer of senior officials without taking the BJP into confidence and the nomination of its sympathizer as member of Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC), a post that was to be filled by the BJP.

Kumaraswamy had sought to tide over the crisis by assuring the BJP that a meeting of co-ordination committee of the coalition partners will be held to resolve the differences. The meeting was scheduled to be held late on Friday evening.

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, who arrived in Bangalore to participate in the Varamahalakshmi festival, advised the JD (S) leadership not to renege on its promise to transfer power to the BJP as scheduled on October 3.

“Credibility is the most important factor in politics. If a party loses its credibility, it gets eliminated”, Swaraj said. “I am confident that the JD (S) leadership is very intelligent and wants to remain in power in future”, she said and reiterated the Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa will be next Chief Minister of Karnataka.