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Governor in Delhi, parties brace for finale
Rameshwar Thakur is in the capital with his final report to consult the Centre on whether he should invite the BJP-JD(S) combine to form the government in the state.
Karnataka Governor Rameshwar Thakur arrived in the national capital with his final report to consult the Centre on whether he should invite the BJP-JD(S) combine to form the government in the state even as the alliance decided to parade its 129 MLAs before President Pratibha Patil on Tuesday.
Thakur wants the Centre to endorse his proposal to allow the combine to form the government though the Congress is of the view that JD(S) president H.D. Deve Gowda's previous letter to the governor demanding dissolution of the Assembly and his refusal to form a government with the BJP is still valid.
The governor is said to have outlined in his report the chronology of events since the fall of the JD(S)-BJP government headed by H.D. Kumaraswamy, including the dharna staged by the BJP to mount pressure on the governor and the opinions of legal and constitutional experts on B.S. Yediyurappa’s claim to form the government with JD(S) support.
His report also dwells on the petition pending with the Karnataka Assembly speaker for disqualification of 39 JD(S) legislators. On October 31, Thakur had sent a status report to the Centre with a detailed narration of events, statements, and newspaper reports of political developments since the collapse of the JD(S)-BJP coalition on October 8. The state came under President's rule on October 9 and the Assembly was kept in suspended animation.
Union minister Prithviraj Chavan, who is also AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka, called on Thakur to reiterate the Congress’s plea for dissolution of the Assembly and holding of early elections.
His party colleagues, including Union ministers Oscar Fernandes and M.V. Rajashekaran launched a statewide campaign against the "opportunistic alliance" forged by the BJP and JD(S) to grab power in Karnataka.
AICC spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan charged the BJP-JD(S) combine with "destroying the concept of constitutional governance by trying to manipulate and distort the fractured mandate given by the people".
