President's rule may persist in Karnataka

"Karnataka never figured in the cabinet... it need not come up in the cabinet...," said I&B Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi.

The Manmohan Singh government appears to be in no hurry to make up its mind on President's rule in Karnataka, with the cabinet meeting on Friday not taking up the issue for discussion.

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"Karnataka never figured in the cabinet... it need not come up in the cabinet. The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) has to deliberate on this," Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyranjan Dasmunsi told reporters after the cabinet meeting chaired by the prime minister.

Asked if the CCPA was likely to meet in the near future, the minister said: "The CCPA can meet anytime it decides to."

The CCPA had in fact met just the day before Thursday and did not take up the issue of whether or not to revoke President's rule in the southern state.

President's rule was imposed in Karnataka last month when the Janata Dal-S chief minister HD Kumaraswamy refused to give up his post to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after 20 months as agreed to. However, they have come together again to stake claim to government formation.