With the ruling Karnataka coalition facing a crucial trust vote, chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy underlined that he was not holding on to power and appealed to the rebel MLAs who have “gone away” to attend the assembly session on Monday.

The chief minister made it very clear that his only intention is of seeking time for debate on trust vote.

“At this juncture, I would like to appeal to such MLAs who have gone away from us to please attend the legislature session and narrate how the BJP took them away forcefully. I request them to explain on the floor of the House how the BJP sabotaged democratic edifice and destroyed its sanctity,” said Kumaraswamy in a tweet.

The rebel lawmakers hunkered down in a Mumbai hotel asserted they would not return and rejected allegations they were held captive.

“We thought this government will do good to the state but it did not happen. There is no question of our attending the assembly session tomorrow,” rebel JD(S) MLA K Gopalaiah said in a video, flanked by ten other legislators.

Pinning the blame on the BJP, the CM said, “It is a matter of immense pain and disgust that the BJP has not only taken Karnataka’s political scenario to a new low, but also set a benchmark in the country for immoral politics.”

The chief minister alleged that the “TV footages have clearly shown BJP leaders and functionaries accompanying our MLAs to Mumbai in special aircrafts (sic)”.

Kumaraswamy and the Congress had moved the Supreme Court on Friday, accusing the Governor of interfering with the Assembly proceedings when the debate on the trust vote was underway and sought clarification on its July 17 order, which they said caused hindrance in issuing whip to the legislators.

Kumaraswamy, whose government has been rocked by resignation of 16 MLAs, urged the rebel lawmakers to sit together and discuss “all issues” to “save this democratically elected government from the evil forces”.

“Let us strive together to save democracy and protect the spirit of country’s constitution from these evil forces who are willing to destroy any democratic and constitutionally established institutions for the sake of power,” read Kumaraswamy’s tweet.

Amid reports that the lone BSP legislator will skip the trust vote, BSP chief Mayawati has instructed N Mahesh to support the Kumaraswamy government.

In another development, two independent Karnataka MLAs worried about another delay in trust vote moved the Supreme Court to issue directions to chief minister Kumaraswamy to hold the vote without further delay.

First Published: Jul 21, 2019 22:33 IST