All eyes are on Bengaluru today, where beleaguered Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has called a Cabinet meeting in the wake of a spate of resignations threatening the existence of the coalition government in Karnataka. As the stage is set for a major political showdown, police have issued prohibitory orders around the state assembly.

The police commissioner issued the orders to clamp Section 144, restricting the gathering of more than five persons and any form of protests within the two-km area around the Vidhana Soudha, taking into account intelligence inputs.

The Cabinet meeting follows a day of high drama in Mumbai, where Congress leader DK Shivakumar tried to meet the rebels but was detained and sent back after 5 hours of waiting outside the hotel where the rebels were staying.

The 13-month old Congress-JD(S) government plunged into crisis with the resignation of thirteen MLAs – 10 of the Congress and 3 of the JD(S) -- last week.

Suspended Congress MLA and ex-minister Roshan Baig who handed over his resignation to the speaker on Tuesday was the 14th.

Besides, two independent lawmakers who had been inducted into Kumaraswamy’s cabinet just last month, H Nagesh and R Shankar, have written to the Governor withdrawing support to the state government.

The coalition government’s top leadership has been on its toes trying to douse the fire, even making all ministers resign in a message to the rebels that the Cabinet could be recast to accommodate them.

All eyes are on Assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar now who is yet to accept the resignations of the MLAs. Kumar has said he has to first hear the legislators. He has also pointed out that of the 16 resignations of the MLAs, only five were in the proper format.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has asked Kumaraswamy to step down, claiming that his government has lost the majority.

The saffron party has also urged the governor to step in following the crisis.

“We have petitioned the governor seeking his intervention. We may even move a no-confidence motion against the government. We will urge the governor to direct the government to prove its majority,” BJP MLC and party spokesperson N Ravikumar told PTI.

First Published: Jul 11, 2019 11:16 IST