Rebel JD MLAs in Karnataka may seek Patel’s ouster

N M Nabi, Srinivas and Krishnamurthy, all MLAs, said they would seek former prime minister H D Deve Gowda’s guidance on their next move when he arrives here on October 18.

Claiming the backing of more than 50 MLAs, they issued an appeal to Gowda, in which they said “the party and government were weakening and becoming inert” after he moved away from Karnataka to national politics.

They said though Gowda’s presence was inevitable in national politics, he should not distance himself from Karnataka affairs and should lead the party in the state.

Asked if this implied that the dissidents were urging Gowda to become the chief minister again, they said it didmean so and they were only looking up to him for guidance.

Answering queries, they blamed the Patel administration as being “ineffective and unresponsive” and expressed reservations about the party doing well in the Assembly polls in December next year under his leadership.

Answering queries on leadership issue, Nabi said, “If a majority of the MLAs want a change, naturally, a decision has to be taken. It is an open issue.”

“We have not decided,” he said, when asked who would succeed Patel if he was removed.

The dissedents’ spokesmen charged that Gowda’s guidance was not being sought in party and administrative matters.

Government’s decisions like fixing meters for pumpsets and hike in power tariff would only alienate the ruling party from the people, they said, adding, “We have to face the elections in a year.”

They said they had dropped the idea of submitting a memorandum to Patel, listing their demands, as the Janata Dal Legislature Party (JDLP) meeting had been convened here on October28.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who had emerged as the rallying point for Patel’s detractors during the last bout of dissidence, asserted that the Janata Dal government was stable. Siddaramiah is yet to clearly state his stand on the dissident activities now.

In an apparent move to take the sting out of the dissidents campaign, Patel had announced on October 11 that the JDLP would meet on October 28 and advanced the legislature session to October 29, instead of November 9.