Bangalore, February 1
Janata Dal (Secular) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy cancelled his trip to New Delhi today to meet top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders to discuss government formation on February 3. JD (S) sources said the trip had been cancelled after the High Court took up a petition challenging the Speaker’s decision to recognise him as leader of the JD(S) for hearing today.
A notice has been issued to Mr Kumaraswamy and his group of legislators on a petition filed by three independent
legislators. The petition stated that Kumaraswamy could not be recognised as the JD(S) party leader when its original leader M.P. Prakash had neither resigned nor been sacked.
It also stated that he should not be allowed to take oath as Chief Minister as he had violated the anti-defection law.
There is also speculation that Mr Kumaraswamy is rethinking his alliance with the BJP with his father yet to give it sanction. Mr Kumaraswamy and his group of legislators were slated to meet former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda tomorrow to seek his blessings. Mr Gowda has, however, indicated that he was in no mood to bless the alliance and had already issued individual appeals to the breakaway legislators to desist from a tie-up with the BJP.
Mr Kumaraswamy is also facing trouble in the family. His elder brother and State Public Works and Power minister H.D. Revanna, who had joined his camp on the trust vote day, has also now gone back to his father’s camp.
Mr Kumaraswamy himself has admitted that he is in a dilemna over the turn of events but that he would not go back on the word given to the BJP.
The BJP however claimed today that the cancellation of Mr Kumaraswamy’s visit to Delhi would not have any effect on the coalition government.
This despite the fact that Mr Kumaraswamy did not personally communicate his decision cancelling his Delhi visit to senior leader Mr Venkaiah Naidu who were coordinating matters with him but “through a friend”. Senior state BJP leaders B.S. Yediyurappa and Jagdish Shettar had however, rushed to the capital ostensibly to finalise the BJP nominees in the new cabinet.
Mr Kumaraswamy himself did not elaborate on the cancellation of his visit to Delhi during which he was scheduled to meet top BJP leaders, including Rajnath Singh, L.K. Advani and Atal Behari Vajpayee.
