The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a plea by 10 Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) MLAs who have accused Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar of delaying their resignations. The legislators alleged that speaker wanted to prolong the life of the ruling dispensation in Karnataka.
Meanwhile, Congress leader DK Shivakumar who had been camping outside the Mumbai hotel to meet the rebel MLAs has been compelled to leave the city by Mumbai Police.
The Vidhana Soudha also witnessed high drama during the day after the resignations of two more Congress legislators – Housing Minister MTB Nagaraj and State Pollution Control Board Chairman K Sudhakar.
Here are the top updates of the day:
10.54 pm: Authorities impose Section 144 that prohibits the assembly of four or more people in an area at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru from July 11 to 14, reports ANI.
10.28 pm: Police commissioner imposes Section 144 around Vidhana Soudha prohibiting the gathering of five or more persons from July 11 to 14, reports News18.
10.26 pm: The All India Congress Committee files complaint stating that rebel MLAs of the party from Karnataka have been illegally confined at a hotel in Mumbai, PTI reports.
08.44 pm: Karnataka Congress President Dinesh Gundu Rao says, “Next course of action...lot of action is coming up. These meetings are going to continue,” reports ANI.
08.30 pm: A meeting of Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, KC Venugopal, Mallikarjun Kharge, G Parameshwara, Siddaramaiah, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Eshwara Khandre and others is underway in Karnataka, ANI reports. This comes after the resignation of two more Karnataka legislators – Housing Minister MTB Nagaraj and State Pollution Control Board Chairman K Sudhakar.
08.28 pm: Siddaramaiah calls Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs “rowdies”, ANI reports. “What made BJP people do rowdyism like that? BJP MLAs and workers are rowdies. I condemn it,” he says. “It is quiet evident that BJP leaders, Amit Shah and Narendra Modi are behind all this. They are defecting and threatening our MLAs.”
08.26 pm: Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah speaks about resignation of Congress MLA K Sudhakar, ANI reports. “Sudhakar is not a BJP MLA or BJP worker, just because he has resigned doesn’t mean he is a BJP MLA,” he says. “As long as his resignation is not accepted he continues to be the member of Congress party. As a CLP leader I was trying to convince him.”
08.25 pm: Minister DK Shivkumar’s press interaction, scheduled for 7.30 pm has been cancelled as he has been compelled to leave the city, reports The Hindu. He is likely to depart from Mumbai by 8.30 pm.
08.08 pm: The Supreme Court will hear the plea of ten rebel MLA’s of Congress and JD(S) on Thursday, PTI reports. The plea alleges that the Karnataka Assembly Speaker was not accepting their resignations deliberately.
07.22 pm: Police is reportedly taking Shivakumar directly to the Mumbai airport and he is forcibly being sent to Bengaluru, according to The Hindu.
07.20 pm: The Mumbai Police has released all detained Congress leaders including Karnataka Minister DK Shivakumar, reports The Hindu.
07.08 pm: Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah meets State Pollution Control Board Chairman K Sudhakar, who is one of the Congress MLAs who resigned earlier today, reports ANI.
5.52 pm: K Sudhakar’s wife calls up BS Yeddyurappa and asks him to rescue her husband, News9 reports. She also asks the police and the governor to protect her husband.
6 pm: BJP will protest on the 3rd floor of the Vidhan Soudha, outside KJ George’s room demanding that he be freed, News9 reports.
5.43 pm: Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara says the BJP has kidnapped Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) MLAs and held them inside the Mumbai hotel.
5.30 pm: K Sudhakar has been confined inside Congress MLA KJ George’s room in the Vidhan Soudha, News9 reports. The MLA had resigned earlier in the day.
5.25 pm: DK Shivakumar will address the media from the Kalina University guest house at 7.30 pm on Wednesday, News18 reports.
5.19 pm: “Manhandling ministers and MLAs is very annoying and unbecoming of Mumbai Police,” Kumaraswamy tweets. “Such hasty Act by Maharashtra Government reinforces the suspicion on BJP of horse trading. “This is a black mark on the republic setup of our country.”
5.15 pm: HD Deve Gowda claims the present situation in Karnataka is “worse than Emergency”, PTI reports. “DK Shivakumar went to the hotel but was denied entry despite having booked a room there,” Gowda said. “I have not seen anything like this in my 60 years of political life. All political parties should set aside their differences and come together to save democracy.”
5.10 pm: “Police and state machinery are being misused,” Congress leader Milind Deora says according to News18. “We want these MLAs to go back to Karnataka and solve these issues in a constitutional way.”
5 pm: The speaker says two more MLAs – K Sudhakar and MTB Nagaraj – have resigned on Wednesday, ANI reports. “As in the case of other MLAs, law will take its own course,” he says. “The law cannot deviate from person to person, it is uniform for one and all.”
4.48 pm: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief Dinesh Gundu Rao and minister Priyank Kharge try to convince MLA Sudhakar K to take his resignation back, News9 reports.
4.26 pm: “I have not accepted any resignation, I can’t do it overnight like that,” Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar says according to ANI. “I have given them [MLAs] time on 17th. I’ll go through the procedure and take a decision.”
4.15 pm: DK Shivakumar says he is confident that the rebel MLAs will return to Bengaluru with him, PTI reports. “Their relationship with the BJP is of two-three days but I know them for 40 years,” he says before the police arrests him. “My heart works with them, my heart is open to them.”
3.58 pm: The 10 Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) MLAs holed up in a Mumbai hotel have accused the HD Kumaraswamy government of scams and maladministration, The Hindu reports.
3.48 pm: The BJP delegation says rebel MLAs are fed up with the coalition government, News9 reports. The delegation requests the speaker to expedite the process of accepting resignations.
3.37 pm: Congress leader Satish Jarkiholi arrives at Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s residence in Bengaluru, News9 reports. Congress leaders G Parameshwara and and Social and Welfare Minister Priyank Kharge are also present.
3.25 pm: Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) leaders protest outside the Karnataka Assembly in Bengaluru, News18 reports.
3.12 pm: Union minister Prakash Javadekar attacks Congress in the Rajya Sabha over the Karnataka crisis, PTI reports. “Congress is disturbing the House even after the massive loss in the elections and after a decisive mandate they, as well as everybody, is expected that the Houses run smoothly,” he says. “Now they are raising the issue of a state which is not allowed here. They are charging that the BJP is poaching, but actually it is the Congress which is doing all kinds of efforts.”
3.07 pm: “We are sure of saving the government,” Azad tells reporters according to News18. “The Centre and the governor’s office are trying to pull the government down. It is the speaker who has to deal with MLAs. This is not the first time that Centre has tried to topple an elected government.”
3.01 pm: Shivakumar and other leaders who were detained are being taken to the Kalina University rest house in Santacruz, ANI reports. Section 144 has been imposed in Powai.
2.59 pm: KC Venugopal tells reporters that Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi will represent the Congress in the Supreme Court on Thursday, ANI reports.
2.56 pm: Ghulam Nabi Azad, other Congress leaders have been detained while protesting near Raj Bhawan in Bengaluru, ANI reports.
2.54 pm: “The issue is that two ministers from Karnataka have come to Maharashtra to meet their MLAs and they are made to sit on the road on the gutter,” Sanjay Nirupam says according to News18. “This exposes the character of BJP. I request Devendra Fadnavis to stop this and allow these leaders to go inside along with police to meet the MLAs who have been forcefully brought here.”
2.51 pm: BJP leader and Union minister Sadananda Gowda says his party is ready to any constitutional directive of the Karnataka governor, including a floor test, PTI reports.
“Their [Congress-JDS] number has come down to 102,” Gowda tells reporters. “We are 107. I think 51 is 100 and 49 is zero as far as democracy is concerned. Certainly, we are on the right track.”
2.42 pm: The Mumbai Police have detained leaders Shivakumar and Naseem Khan, News18 reports. They have been taken to the Powai Police Station. Milind Deora has also been detained.
2.39 pm: Congress leaders Sanjay Nirupam and Milind Deora argue with the police about letting DK Shivakumar enter the hotel, News9 reports.
2.35 pm: Opposition chants slogans against the BJP in the Rajya Sabha, Times Now reports. The House is adjourned till 3 pm following the ruckus.
2.29 pm: The Congress will move the consumer court against the Renaissance Hotel in Mumbai for cancelling DK Shivakumar’s booking at the last minute, Times Now reports.
2.25 pm: Congress MLA Shivaram Hebbar’s son Vivek Hebbar submits his father’s resignation to the speaker’s secretary, News9 reports. Speaker Ramesh Kumar had earlier rejected the MLA’s resignation claiming it was not in order.
2.20 pm: BS Yeddyurappa has met the governor. “I requested the governor to convey to speaker that he should take necessary action immediately,” he says. “Kumaraswamy has no moral right to continue as chief minister, they don’t have the numbers.”
2.14 pm: “The petition [in the Supreme Court] has been filed by 10 MLAs,” advocate Mukul Rohatgi says according to ANI. “They have resigned voluntarily and they are complaining that speaker is not taking immediate decision and is deliberately delaying it for various reasons. So, we have asked the Court to take up the petition immediately and I expect that the petition will come up tomorrow.”
2.07 pm: Janata Dal (Secular) chief HD Deve Gowda arrives at Congress’ protest site in Bengaluru, meets Ghulam Nabi Azad. Siddaramaiah and KC Venugopal are the other senior leaders present, ANI reports.
2 pm: BS Yeddyurappa’s son BY Vijayendra is heading to Mumbai as part of the BJP’s “troubleshooting team”, News18 reports.
1.53 pm: “Opposition should be given space in democracy,” Shashi Tharoor says in the Lok Sabha according to News18. “When our minister goes to meet MLAs, he is not being allowed to do so. This is a very unfortunate situation.”
1.40 pm: Congress leader Milind Deora arrives at Hotel Renaissance to meet DK Shivakumar, who was not allowed inside earlier, News18 reports.
1.22 pm: Rebel MLAs have now sent their resignations by speed post, reports News18. The Speaker had rejected some of them on Tuesday.
1.20 pm: “The MLAs are under captivity of the ruling party, they have been lured or intimidated,” says Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
1.18 pm: Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury says DK Shivakumar was not allowed to enter the hotel because the BJP wanted him to not meet the rebel MLAs. “Is Shivakumar a don or a goon?” he says. “Police could have gone inside the hotel with him if he posed a threat.”
1 pm: Police in Mumbai’s Powai locality have imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, prohibiting the assembly of four or more people, ANI reports. The hotel the rebel MLAs are staying in is located in Powai.
12.33 pm: Karnataka Congress President Dinesh Gundu Rao and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad hold a meeting after rumours that more MLAs have resigned, reports News9.
12.32 pm: Yeddyurappa says: “We will meet the Karnataka Assembly Speaker at 3 pm today. Speaker has still not condemned tearing up of resignations by DK Shivakumar [on Saturday]. Tearing up of resignations is a crime that is unforgivable.”
12.30 pm: Karnataka BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa says the Assembly session that will begin on July 12 will be an “illegal session”, ANI reports. “It is not too late, you [HD Kumaraswamy] should resign and make way for a BJP government,” he says.
12.22 pm: Workers of the Congress and the JD(S) protest against the BJP in Bengaluru.
12.06 pm: DK Shivakumar says he cannot go back without meeting the rebel MLAs and without fulfilling the purpose of his Mumbai visit.
11.53 am: Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy cancels all his appointments for the day and will plan strategy to save his government, reports News9.
11.26 am: Karnataka BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa and BJP leaders protest outside Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru, reports ANI.
11.15 am: On Hotel Renaissance cancelling his booking, Shivakumar says they should be proud to have a customer like him, reports ANI. He says: “I love Mumbai. I love this hotel. Let them cancel. I have other rooms also.”
11.13 am: DK Shivakumar, who is in Mumbai, says he will not leave “without meeting my friends”, reports ANI. “They will call me,” he says. “Their heart will break. I’m in touch already, hearts of both of us are beating.”
11.10 am: Rebel Congress MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi, who is in Mumbai, says the MLAs are not interested in meeting DK Shivakumar. “No one from BJP is here to meet us,” he says, according to ANI.
11.06 am: Rebel Congress leader B Basavaraj says they don’t intend to insult DK Shivakumar. “We have faith in him but there is a reason we have taken this step,” he says, according to ANI. “Friendship, love and affection are on one side, with gratitude and respect we request him to understand why we cannot meet him today.” Basavaraj is in Mumbai with 10 other MLAs who resigned.
11.02 am: Karnataka minister DK Shivakumar says nothing is permanent in politics, ANI reports. “There are no friends and no enemies,” he says. “Anyone can turn at any moment. I’m trying to contact them [rebel MLAs]. I’ll get a call. Their heart is beating to meet their friend.”
10.57 am: Hotel Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre cancels Karnataka minister DK Shivakumar’s booking due to “some emergency in the hotel”, reports ANI.
10.47 am: Rebel Congress and JD(S) leaders who have resigned from the Karnataka Assembly move the Supreme Court accusing Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar of abandoning his constitutional duty and deliberately delaying acceptance of their resignations, ANI reported.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi assures senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the rebel MLAs, that it will see whether their plea can be listed for an urgent hearing on Thursday, reports PTI.
9.56 am: Karnataka minister GT Devegowda accuses the Centre of trying to destabilise the state government. He claims the Congress-JD(S) MLAs are being held captive at the hotel, reports News9.
9.51 am: Congress leader DK Shivakumar, who is in Mumbai, says it is wrong not to allow him to enter the hotel where the rebel MLAs are staying, reports News9. “BJP says they are not involved in this political crisis, then why are they using police force against me?” he asks.
9.10 am: Police in Mumbai escort Karnataka minister DK Shivakumar away from the gates of Hotel Renaissance, where 10 rebel MLAs of the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) are staying, reports ANI.
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Karnataka crisis: 10 rebel MLAs in Mumbai write to police claiming ‘threat’ during CM’s visit
9 am: Karnataka BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa says the party members will stage a sit-in protest in front of the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru, reports ANI. “We will meet the speaker and the governor.”
8.45 am: Karnataka minister DK Shivakumar arrives at Hotel Renaissance where the rebel MLAs are staying, reports ANI. “I’ve booked a room here,” he says. “My friends are staying here. There has been a small problem, we have to hold negotiations. We can’t go for a divorce immediately. There is no question of threatening, we love and respect each other.”
8.37 am: Supporters of Janata Dal (Secular) MLA Narayan Gowda, who is staying at Hotel Renaissance in Mumbai, chant slogans against Congress leader DK Shivakumar, who is expected to visit the hotel, reports ANI.
8.30 am: Mumbai Police says Karnataka minister DK Shivakumar will not be allowed inside the hotel where the 10 rebel MLAs are staying, reports ANI.
8.20 am: Karnataka minister DK Shivakumar and Janata Dal (Secular) MLA Shivalinge Gowda arrive in Mumbai, reports ANI. Shivakumar says they have come “meet our friends”. He says: “We were born together in politics, we will die together in politics. They are our party men. We have come to meet them.”