BENGALURU: The 11 MLAs of the Congress- JDS coalition, who are holed up in Mumbai, on Sunday released fresh videos to declare that they were alive and kicking, and celebrating. In a clear attempt to mock the coalition leaders raising questions of their safety on the floor of the House, rebel MLAs released videos insisting that they were abstaining from the session of their free will. “Great leaders of the coalition have raised questions about whether we are dead or alive. We are very much alive and happy. We are together and are even celebrating MTB Nagaraj’s birthday,” ST Somashekhar was seen claiming in the video. Insisting that they resigned from their posts and chose to stay away from proceedings of their own will, the MLAs said the lure of money and power had nothing to do with it. “We have been deeply hurt. We are not here for money or power. We were hopeful that this coalition would deliver good governance but it did not,” said Gopalaiah of the JDS.
“We resigned as MLAs to save democracy and to teach this government a lesson. Resignations were based on ideology, not for money. People who are here have crores of rupees,” he said, and pointed out to AH Vishwanath. The video clippings came on a day Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy appealed to the rebel MLAs to return and “expose the BJP”. Earlier on Sunday, Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar raised eyebrows when he claimed that the JDS was willing to let go of the Chief Minister’s chair. “JDS leaders have conveyed that they want the coalition to work and are willing to sacrifice anything.
They said they are okay with any of us (Congress) becoming chief minister. They have said this to me, Siddaramaiah, Parameshwara and our high command. Yet, we are confident that the government will continue,” he said. The same, however, was denied by KPCC chief Dinesh Gundurao. The rebel MLAs reiterated that irrespective of who becomes CM, they have decided to stay away from the floor test. “Instead of people who have worked for the Congress tirelessly, they have brought in people from outside and made them ministers. Should we keep quiet looking at this? We will not come back to the assembly,” said N Muniratna, Rajarajeshwari Nagar MLA.