Karnataka gets thrilling

Bangalore: The political drama in Karnataka on Saturday took a comic turn, with ruling JD-S president H D Deve Gowda going on a pilgrimage to Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu knowing well that senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha had landed in Bangalore to persuade him for a smooth power transfer in the state.

In a related move, the state’s Tourism Minister B Sriramulu, whose statements against Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy brought the ruling coalition to the brink of a crisis, was likely to step down.

The minister - who had earlier levelled attempt to murder charges against the CM - was asked by his party BJP to step down to defuse the crisis and ensure transfer of power on October 3, the date agreed upon earlier by the two allies - the JD-S and BJP.

Gowda’s son, Kumaraswamy, was also away in Puducherry to attend a function to hand over houses for tsunami victims built by a leading pontiff of Karnataka.

Both were expected back in the city on Saturday evening.

close aide of Deve Gowda said BJP vice president and Karnataka in-charge Yashwant Sinha had not sought an appointment with the JD-S leader for a meeting to resolve the row over power transfer.

“So far, we have not received any request for a meeting from BJP,” the aide said.

Sinha arrived in Bangalore on Friday evening for talks with the party’s Karnataka leaders after Deve Gowda called off talks with the BJP on the power transfer issue.

After calling off talks with central BJP leaders, Deve Gowda had rushed home from Delhi, saying Sriramulu’s charges against his son had vitiated the atmosphere. The minister withdrew his charges the next day.

Source: www.mumbaimirror.com