Kumaraswamy to meet Sonia, Rahul before swearing-in
TERMS REPORTS ON THE POWER-SHARING FORMULA OF 30 MONTHS EACH AS ‘BOGUS’
Ahead of his swearingin as the chief minister of the southern Indian state of Karnataka, Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Kumaraswamy will meet Congress party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in Delhi today to discuss the modalities of government formation.
Clarifying that no discussion has taken place so far on the allocation of ministerial berths, Kumaraswamy termed reports on the power-sharing formula of 30 months each between the parties as “bogus”.
“I’m visiting New Delhi tomorrow. I will meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi and the party’s senior leader Sonia Gandhi,” he told reporters in the state capital Bengaluru.
Based on the outcome of discussions with them, a decision will be taken on the number of Congress and JDS MLAs who will become ministers, Kumaraswamy added.
On Saturday, B.S. Yeddyurappa had stepped down as the chief minister without facing the floor test in the state Assembly as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fell short of numbers, following which Kumaraswamy met state Governor Vajubhai Vala, and said he had been invited to form the government.
The May 12-Karnataka Assembly polls threw up a hung assembly, with the BJP emerging as the single-largest party with 104 seats.
While making it clear that there have been no discussions yet on the portfolio allocation, Kumaraswamy requested the media not to create confusion among the public and MLAs with such “speculative” reports.
He also asserted that within 24 hours of taking oath, he would prove the majority on the floor of the House.
“Mostly on Wednesday there will be oath-taking ceremony. After that on Thursday we will complete the process of Speaker’s election and trust vote,” he added.
After meeting the governor, Kumaraswamy had on Saturday said the swearing-in ceremony would take place tentatively between 12 noon and 1.50pm IST at Kanteerava stadium in the city today.
But, later, he announced that the event would be held on Wednesday as May 21 happens to be the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
The venue of the swearing-in is also likely to be changed.