CM must step down: Basavaraj Horatti

Hubballi: Senior JD(S) leader Basavaraj Horatti said that H.D. Kumaraswamy should step down from the post of chief Minister instead of making efforts to save the coalition government and facilitate mid-term polls in the state.

Addressing the media in Belagavi on Sunday, he lamented that he had never seen such politics during his five decade long career. Stating that some of the legislators are holding the state government to ransom since the last few months, he said the Speaker should accept the resignations of the disgruntled MLAs who have been posing bottlenecks to the functioning of the CM.

“The en-masse resignation given by the ruling party legislators is not a good sign. Resignations should be submitted to the Speaker. But, it is the first time where the papers have been submitted to the governor setting a new precedent", Horatti said. He also said that the legislators have resigned only because they were not made ministers adding that all MLAs cannot be inducted into the Cabinet. Earlier, Horatti had given a similar suggestion to the CM to go for fresh Assembly elections by dissolving the House. But, his statement had evoked sharp criticism from several Congress leaders including minister R.V. Deshpande who contended that the JD(S) leader was giving such advice as he has not been elected directly by the people.

Stating that the legislators will face the wrath of the people if Assembly elections are imposed in a short span of one year, Deshpande had challenged Horatti to enter the poll fray for the Assembly elections instead of contesting to the  legislative council. Horatti was elected to the legislative council for a sixth consecutive term from the west teachers constituency.