BENGALURU: Ahead of two important events that will decide the future of the Congress-JDS coalition government, as well as that of the Congress party in Karnataka, a split seems to have surfaced in the party on the issue of disqualifying the MLAs who have resigned.
While the younger leaders believe that pushing for disqualification would create a rift between the party and some of its strongest leaders, seniors are worried about the example that not taking action would set, not just in Karnataka, but across the country.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will pronounce its decision on the petition by 15 rebel MLAs asking for their resignation to be accepted.
On Thursday, the government will voluntarily face a trust vote. At such a juncture, there is a section of Congress leaders, mostly youth, who don’t want the leadership to act in haste to save the coalition at the cost of losing these leaders.
“No one can question our commitment to saving the secular government. But we don’t want the party to lose its MLAs and party workers. The ripple effect will be felt at the organisational level in Bengaluru, where the BJP has a strong presence,” a Congress leader said.
The argument for not taking punitive action against the MLAs is that the party should not suffer in a last ditch attempt to save the JDS.
Young leaders have made their stand clear to the seniors, who are now in a fix. Not taking action could send the wrong signals to cadres in other Congress-ruled states like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where the BJP has a strong presence and could try to destabilise the government.
However, the youth brigade argues that the MLAs who stand to be disqualified are not fringe leaders but ones with a strong base in their constituencies.
They say that these MLAs have contributed to strengthening the party, particularly in Bengaluru. While some do blame the MLAs for the extreme step of resigning, they still feel that disqualification is harsh.
“They may have their own reasons for blaming the coalition government, but they should have remained loyal as it is only the Congress that can stop the BJP from coming to power in the state,” said Congress MLC Rizwan Arshad.
Minister from the party, who did not want to be named, said, “Disqualification is not a solution. They should be allowed to go. It will aggravate trouble in the BJP as it would be difficult for them to handle the party and the independents. It would benefit the Congress.”