Barely a day before the crucial trust vote to be sought by the newly formed BJP-led Government, its ally JDS on Sunday put off a decision on continuing support to the Yeddyurappa Government.
BANGALORE: Barely a day before the crucial trust vote to be sought by the newly formed BJP-led Government, its ally JDS on Sunday put off a decision on continuing support to the Yeddyurappa Government to the last minute, keeping the saffron party on tenterhooks.
A meeting of the JDS Legislature party passed a resolution authorising the party chief H D Devegowda and its leader H D Kumaraswamy to decide on the issue of continuing its support to the BJP-led government.
The meeting asked Kumaraswamy to hold talks with Yeddyurappa to sign a 12-point MoU for extending its support during the vote of confidence tomorrow.
"The legislature party passed an unanimous resolution authorising Devegowda and Kumaraswamy to take a decision on extending support to the trust vote tomorrow", state unit JDS President Merajuddin Patel told after the meeting.
Kumaraswamy, after consultations with Yeddyurappa, would brief senior leaders -- M P Prakash, D Manjunath and him on the outcome. The leaders in turn would later discuss it with Devegowda.
The former prime minister will decide on whether to issue a whip to his party legislators or not, Patel said.
Meanwhile, JDS sources said the party was firm in demanding that the BJP allocate it the portfolios of Mines and Geology and Bangalore Development Authority, which otherwise would have gone to the saffron party under the power sharing pact entered into between them in 2006.
BJP has rushed in its senior leader Yashwant Sinha, in-charge of party affairs in Karnataka to assist the state unit leader in the negotiations and ensure smooth passage of the trust vote.
Soon after pledging support to BJP-led coalition government, Gowda shocked BJP leadership by firing of a letter in which he insisted that the saffron party ink an MoU accepting the conditions mooted by him.
Through the MoU, Gowda wants a major say for Kumaraswamy on various issues of administration including on policy decisions and check mudslinging between the partners in a precaution to avoid unsavoury incidents faced earlier.
When JDS-BJP ruled the state for 20 months, BJP MLC, G Janardhana Reddy had levelled Rs 150 crore bribery charges against Kumaraswamy and members of Gowda family and former minister B Sriramulu (a follower of Reddy) filed a criminal complaint against Kumaraswamy.
Now BJP is under immense pressure from JDS to sign the MoU, the first of its kind in political history, to save its party led government that assumed office on November 12.
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