14 Karnataka MLAs stationed near Pune, waiting for speaker's decision on resignation
Mumbai: Fourteen MLAs of Karnataka's ruling coalition are in a place about 90 km from Pune and will wait for the Speaker's decision on their resignations before taking a call on proceeding to Goa or returning to Bengaluru, sources said on Tuesday.
The 14 MLAs, at the centre of the crisis in the JD(S)-Congress government, had been staying in a luxury hotel in Mumbai and left on Monday evening for Goa.
But they are presently stationed at a location 90 km from Pune, towards Satara, in Maharashtra, the sources said. If their resignations are accepted, they may even go back to Bengaluru, they added.
The MLAs -- 10 of the Congress, two of the JD (S) and two Independents -- were to travel to Goa by road, accompanied by Mumbai BJP Yuva Morcha president Mohit Bhartiya, they said.
"The decision on whether to go to Goa will be taken at 3 pm after the Karnataka Assembly Speaker (Ramesh Kumar) takes a call on the resignations of these MLAs. If he accepts the resignations, the MLAs may even go back to Bengaluru," a source said.
Seven more MLAs of the ruling combine from Karnataka are likely to join the 14 legislators later in the day, the source said. The monsoon session of the Karnataka legislature will begin on July 12.
Maharashtra BJP legislator Prasad Lad had earlier said the 14 MLAs left the luxury hotel in Mumbai where they were staying at 5 pm on Monday.
They were expected to stay at a resort in Goa where arrangements were made for them, the sources said.
The year-old Congress-Janata Dal (S) coalition government in Karnataka is on the brink of collapse after the spate of resignations by the MLAs.
The Karnataka Assembly has 225 members, including one nominated MLA. The halfway mark in the 225-member Assembly is 113. Before the latest spate of resignations, the Congress had 78 MLAs, the JD(S)-37 and the BJP-105.
The Congress-JD(S) coalition effectively had the support of 119 MLAs in an Assembly.
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Kharge expresses regret over 'illiterate' remark, says he has highest of respect for Gujaratis
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New Delhi (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday expressed regret over his controversial statement calling the people of Gujarat "illiterate", and said he has always had and will continue to have the highest of respect for the people of the state.
In a post on X, the Congress president said, "Some remarks of mine in a recent election speech in Kerala are being deliberately misinterpreted. Even so, I express my sincere regret.
"It was never my intention to hurt the sentiments of the people of Gujarat for whom I have always had and will continue to have the highest of respect."
Kharge on Sunday had sparked a row during his Assembly poll campaign in Kerala, calling the people of Gujarat "illiterate" and claiming they were being "fooled" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
At the same time, Kharge said neither Modi nor Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan could fool the people of Kerala, describing them as "very clever and educated".
"Don’t misguide the people of Kerala. They are very clever and educated. Modiji, Vijayan, you both can fool people who are illiterate in Gujarat or other places, but you cannot fool the people of Kerala," the Congress chief had said.
He made the remark while alleging that both Modi and Vijayan were following the same path, with no difference between them except the parties they lead.
The BJP on Tuesday had demanded an apology from Kharge for his remarks, saying that the comment was "shameless, demeaning and utterly despicable."
Addressing a press conference here, senior BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asked Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to clarify whether they agreed with Kharge's statement.
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