Rebel Congress MLA MTB Nagaraj heads to Mumbai
Bengaluru, Jul 14: Efforts by coalition leaders to mollify rebel Congress MLA M T B Nagaraj seem to have failed as he has flown to Mumbai Sunday, according to sources.
Leaders of the Congress-JD(S) coalition held negotiations with Nagaraj on Saturday in a bid to woo him back to save the H D Kumaraswamy-led government in Karnataka that is on the brink of collapse.
The Hoskote MLA had maintained that he intended to take a final decision on the withdrawal of his resignation after talks with Chikkaballapura MLA K Sudhakar, as both had together submitted resignation to the Speaker on July 10.
According to the sources, Nagaraj is now on his way to Mumbai to join Sudhakar, who is said to be along with other MLAs who have quit and are camping there.
Visuals of Nagaraj boarding a chartered flight have also surfaced on local news channels.
Nagaraj, who was Housing Minister in the Kumaraswamy government before he resigned, however, maintained that he was still in the Congress party.
"Sudhakar has switched off his phone, and is not available for the last two days. After pacifying and convincing Sudhakar, I will try to bring him back. Because we both had resigned together, so we want to be united. I have informed this to Congress leaders," Nagaraj told reporters here before leaving his residence.
Stating that he was still in the Congress, he said leaders, including Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and CLP leader Siddaramaiah, have asked him to withdraw the resignation.
"I'm also trying for it (withdraw). Only thing is that I have to meet Sudhakar, I haven't met him. I will meet him, he should be somewhere," he said, adding "my intention is that we have to withdraw it (resignation) together."
After almost day-long negotiations on Saturday, it appeared that Congress had made some headway in pacifying Nagaraj, who had hinted that he might consider withdrawing his resignation, but fell short of making any final announcement.
A day after Kumaraswamy made a surprise announcement in the Assembly that he would seek a trust vote, marathon meetings were held by coalition leaders, including Siddaramaiah, Kumaraswamy and Minister D K Shivakumar, with Nagaraj on Saturday.
However, Nagaraj on his part maintained his stand that he will take any call on withdrawal only after talks with Sudhakar, as they both had decided to resign together.
The Hoskote MLA had even said he would also try to pacify Sudhakar and convince him to withdraw the resignation.
Responding to a question on his decision if he was unable to meet Sudhakar, Nagaraj said, "Then, what should be my decision, I will decide it tomorrow morning."
Asked what he would do if Sudhakar did not agree to withdraw his resignation, Nagaraj said, "I will think about it and decide."
Nagaraj is among the five rebel Congress MLAs, who had moved the Supreme Court on Saturday against the Assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar not accepting their resignation.
MLAs Anand Singh, K Sudhakar, N Nagaraj (MTB), Munirathna and Roshan Baig have sought impleadment in the already pending application filed by the 10 other rebel MLAs on which hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
The coalition government is on a sticky wicket with 16 MLAs 13 of the Congress and three of the JD(S) resigning their assembly membership. Besides, two independent legislators, who were made ministers recently to provide stability, have quit the cabinet.
The independents H Nagesh and R Shankar too have withdrawn support to the coalition government and are now supporting the BJP.
READ ALSO----"I will withdraw my resignation": MTB Nagaraj
The ruling coalition's strength in the House is 116 (Congress 78, JD(S) 37 and BSP one), besides the speaker.
With the support of the two independents, the opposition BJP has 107 MLAs in the 224-member House.
If the resignations of the 16 MLAs are accepted, the ruling coalition's tally will be reduced to 100. The speaker has a vote too.
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Criticism of PM Modi, repeated mentions of guarantees to be highlights of K’taka Budget: LoP Ashoka
Bengaluru (PTI): Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka on Thursday took a dig at CM Siddaramaiah ahead of the state Budget presentation, claiming that the government is expected to borrow Rs 1.15 lakh crore and is likely to impose fresh taxes on the people.
He said the Budget would have nothing new, adding that its highlights would be criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and repeated mentions of the five guarantee schemes ('Shakti', 'Gruha Lakshmi', 'Gruha Jyoti, 'Yuva Nidhi' and 'Anna Bhagya').
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who also holds the Finance portfolio, is scheduled to present the 2026–27 Budget on March 6. This will be his record 17th budget.
“Siddaramaiah-led Congress government’s budget will be presented tomorrow. While Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reduced the tax burden in the Union Budget, Siddaramaiah is known for imposing taxes on people. He imposes about four taxes a month and has already introduced 36 taxes, and is now looking for ways to impose more,” Ashoka said.
Speaking to reporters, he said the Congress had promised people before coming to power that the guarantee schemes would be implemented without imposing any burden on them.
“By the end of the chief minister’s term, the state’s total debt will probably exceed Rs 6 lakh crore. The government has already breached financial discipline. Siddaramaiah and his government are somehow managing the situation,” Ashoka claimed, adding that his borrowings as CM equal those of 12 or 13 former chief ministers combined.
Stating that the Budget should create higher revenue sources, ensure that no burden is placed on people, and take the state away from debt, the opposition leader said this could be ensured only by a “clever and intelligent finance minister.”
“Anyone can run a government by pushing the state into debt,” he said, accusing Siddaramaiah of “increasing the state’s debt and failing to meet the expectations of the people.”
Highlighting that Siddaramaiah blames the previous BJP government for everything, Ashoka said Basavaraj Bommai, the chief minister during the previous BJP government, had presented a “surplus budget,” without excessive borrowings.
“Despite having the opportunity to borrow more while staying within the parameters of financial discipline, he (Bommai) did not do so, as it would burden the people,” he said, accusing Siddaramaiah of borrowing crores of rupees every year.
“I feel that this time too, he will take a loan of Rs 1.15 lakh crore,” he claimed.
The BJP leader said he had written to the CM requesting an allocation of Rs 15,000 crore annually for the development of backward taluks, as recommended by the High Power Committee on Redressal of Regional Imbalance (HPCRRI), chaired by economist Prof M Govinda Rao.
Claiming that the government appears “inactive” due to internal rifts, Ashoka pointed to an ongoing power struggle between factions led by Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar over the CM’s post.
“Amid all this, we cannot expect anything new from this Budget. The CM will repeatedly speak about the guarantee schemes and target the central government and PM Modi. Criticising Modi and repeated mentions of the five guarantee schemes will be the highlight of this Budget. Other than that, there will be nothing new,” he added.
He also dismissed the CM's claim that the government had achieved 90 per cent of the promises made in the previous Budget. “The fact is that not even 9 per cent has been achieved. I have evidence for it,” he said.
Ashoka further alleged that the government had also failed in tax collection, achieving only 48 per cent of the target, and had released less than 40 per cent of the allocated funds to some departments.
