Congress rules out revival of ties with JD (S)

Congress party has ruled out the possibility of joining hands with the JD (S) in Karnataka to form an alternative coalition.

Former Karnataka Chief Minister M Veerappa Moily, who has recently been appointed as the Chairman of the Media department of AICC, said the Congress was not interested in “polluting” itself by joining hands with the JD (S) again.

Referring to the crisis brewing over the transfer of power from JD (S) to BJP in the State, Moily said the coalition Government had outlived its utility. “The JD (S) had betrayed us after forming a coalition with Congress in 2004. In any case, the ball is in their court. In fact, the ball is being tossed from the court of the BJP to the court of JD (S). We are not in the picture”, he remarked.

Instead of joining the JD (S) and forming an alternative Government, Moily said the Congress party was keen on winning the next elections and forming a Government on its own. “So, rather than polluting the state, we will infuse oxygen into it”, he said.

Meanwhile, former Union Minister and senior Congress leader B Janardhan Poojary opined that the only way out of the present “fluid” situation in the State was for the Governor to recommend President’s Rule in the State.

Poojary told reporters in Mangalore that the Governor should recommend President’s Rule and the State should go for mid-term polls.

He said the Governor Rameshwar Thakur, on his own, can submit a report to the Federal Government on the present political situation in Karnataka.

Poojary also said that the Congress was prepared for mid-term polls. “We are not afraid of polls. The party has already taken a stand that it would prefer to face elections rather than go in for any sort of understanding with either of the coalition partners”, he said.

Poojary said the people of Karnataka were fed up with the political instability in the state and would send a clear message favouring the Congress in polls to urban local bodies. The same outcome will be repeated in the mid-term polls, he said confidently