The Hindu : Front Page : Coalition partners stand by Kumaraswamy's leadership

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 21, 2006

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Front Page

Coalition partners stand by Kumaraswamy's leadership

Special Correspondent

Governor seeks Chief Minister's comments on Congress memorandum

SOLID SUPPORT: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy (right) and Home Minister M.P. Prakash at a meeting of the Janata Dal (S) Legislature Party in Bangalore on Thursday. — Photo: K. Gopinathan

Bangalore: Uncertainty faces the coalition Government with demands for the resignation of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and the Bharatiya Janata Party favouring an inquiry into the bribery charge.

The Raj Bhavan was also active on Thursday. Governor T.N. Chaturvedi acted on a Congress memorandum and sought the Chief Minister's comments on it. The Congress had demanded the dismissal of the Government and the ordering of an inquiry by the CBI into the bribe-taking allegation.

The coalition parties were engaged in damage-control exercises which received momentum with the arrival of two BJP leaders from New Delhi, M. Venkaiah Naidu and Tavarchand Gehlot.

The two parties are also watching the next move of G. Janardhana Reddy, MLC.

However, despite their different perspectives, the Janata Dal (S) and the BJP have decided to back Mr. Kumaraswamy and expressed solidarity with him. Some of the national leaders of the BJP have also been in touch with the Janata Dal (S) leadership to ensure that the Government did not wilt under pressure from the Congress.

However, the BJP demand for an inquiry to enable the Chief Minister and two members of the Cabinet — M.P. Prakash and C. Chennigappa — to come clean has not gone down well with the Janata Dal (S).

Earlier in the day, a meeting of the Janata Dal (S) Legislature Party was hurriedly convened and the legislators expressed their solidarity with the Chief Minister. He was told not to resign and instead the Government should file a criminal case against Mr. Reddy.

Panel meeting

The Janata Dal (S)-BJP Coordination Committee met on Thursday for a brief while where the BJP proposed that the Government institute an inquiry into the allegations made by Mr. Reddy. The party has, however, made it clear that the objective of any inquiry was to remove doubts in the people's mind. The committee came out in support of the leadership of Mr. Kumaraswamy.

Transport Minister N. Cheluvaraya Swamy told presspersons after the meeting that the Cabinet would meet on Friday to decide on the mode of inquiry into the illegal mining in Bellary district.

According to State BJP president D.V. Sadananda Gowda the coordination committee took note of the speedy suspension of Mr. Reddy after Wednesday's episode in the Legislative Council.

Mr. Reddy's outburst amounted to indiscipline and his unsubstantiated allegations against Mr. Kumaraswamy could be detrimental to the coalition.

The Government is likely to order a judicial inquiry on Friday into the bribery allegation against the Chief Minister and members of his family, the Home Minister and the Minister for Forests, sources in the Government said.

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