New Delhi: In a major twist, Congress' trouble-shooter and senior minister DK Shivakumar on Sunday said that the JDS is "ready to sacrifice" for the coalition, adding they want either Siddaramaiah, G Parameshwara or Shivakumar himself to be the chief minister.
"The Janata Dal Secular has informed that they are ready to sacrifice to save the coalition. JDS has told us that Siddaramaiah, G Parameshwara or myself can be the CM. They have conveyed this to the Congress High Command as well," Shivakumar said, adding that the decision has now been left on Congress.
However, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president Dinesh Gundu Rao rubbished the statement and said that they were prepared for Monday's floor test.
"We are going in for the trust motion with a lot of confidence. We are sure to win and expose the BJP on the floor of the house. Neither there is any such proposal (as claimed by Shivakumar) not are we thinking of something like this," he said.
The Karnataka crisis was set off by resignation of 16 MLAs of the ruling coalition a fortnight ago.
As many as 16 MLAs — 13 from the Congress and three from JDS — had resigned, while independent MLAs R Shankar and H Nagesh have withdrawn their support to the coalition government, putting the government on the edge.
One Congress member Ramalinga Reddy retracted, saying he would support the government. The ruling combine's strength is 117 — Congress 78, JD(S) 37, BSP 1, and nominated 1, besides the Speaker.
With the support of the two independents, the opposition BJP has 107 MLAs in the 225-member House, including the nominated MLA and Speaker.
If the resignations of 15 MLAs (12 from Congress and 3 from JDS) are accepted or if they stay away, the ruling coalition's tally will plummet to 101, (excluding the Speaker) reducing the government to a minority.
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