The drama unfolded soon after state tourism minister B Sreeramulu accused chief minister HD Kumaraswamy of hiring a contract killer to murder him.
BANGALORE: Karnantaka is hurtling towards a political crisis with the coalition government of Janata Dal (Secular) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the brink of a split after JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda announced suspension of talks on power transfer.
The drama unfolded soon after state tourism minister B Sreeramulu accused chief minister HD Kumaraswamy of hiring a contract killer to murder him and his close aide, G Janardhana Reddy, a suspended BJP legislator. Sreeramulu made the statement at a news conference at Bellary in north Karnataka on Wednesday.
Taking offence at the allegations made by Sreeramulu against his son, Gowda rushed back to the city from New Delhi on Thursday morning in a huff calling off parleys with top leaders of BJP including its president Rajnath Singh and party in-charge of Karnataka chapter Yashwant Sinha.
“Allegations made against my family are serious and I see no point in further discussions with the BJP,” said Gowda. “The conduct of the coalition partner has forced me to cancel my meetings with BJP leaders in Delhi,” he added.
Gowda's statements are being seen by senior leaders of the BJP as open hints of an unlikely power transfer. “The development has left us in a lurch,” they said. Gowda was set to begin a “decisive round of talks on handing over reins to the BJP”.
“I will not initiate talks on power transfer. Let the BJP national leaders decide on the Bellary issue. A cabinet minister levelling murder charges against the chief minister is not a small matter.
It is a national party and I hope the central leaders will understand the gravity of the situation,” Gowda said. BJP state unit president DV Sadananda Gowda and party MP from Bellary G Karunakara Reddy have defended Sreeramulu. "The top BJP leaders should understand the seriousness of the allegations and take note of the rift between us,” Gowda said.
The developments have comes as a blow for the BJP, which was to come to power from October 3, if JD (S) maintained the agreement made between the coalition partners in February 2006.
Then they had formed the government with an understanding that both the parties would share the chief minister's post for 20 months each till the 2009 assembly elections. Kumaraswamy was given the first chance with an understanding that he would transfer power to BJP candidate B S Yediyurappa.
However, with the turn of events, most BJP leaders are not optimistic about the fate of the government. “If JD(S) violated the agreement, we would have got the sympathy votes. But now our coalition partner has perfect reason not to hand over the reins,” a senior BJP leader said.
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