Bengaluru: Karnataka BJP president and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra claimed on Tuesday that Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar's position was under threat from a rebellion within the ruling Congress, and that he was blaming the Centre out of desperation.
Vijayendra was reacting to Shivakumar's statement that the BJP was not cooperating with the state government's efforts to convene an all-party meeting on the sugarcane farmers' issue.
"You have been watching the developments around the sting operation. Congress leaders are rebelling against the Chief Minister. Against this backdrop, he is complaining against the Centre out of desperation," Vijayendra said.
He said the BJP would sit with the Leaders of Opposition and senior party leaders to decide whether to join the ruling party's delegation to Delhi on the sugarcane farmers' issue.
Clarifying the BJP's stand, Vijayendra said the party is in the Opposition as per the people's mandate and will remain there for the remaining one-and-a-half years of the government's tenure. "There is no need for us to destabilise or bring down the Congress government," he said.
He added, "Senior leaders within the ruling party are preparing to rebel against the Chief Minister. What I am saying is the truth."
The state is already locked in a row over the demands of sugarcane farmers, with the ruling party and the Opposition trading charges. The Chief Minister has shown willingness to take an all-party delegation to Delhi, while the BJP says it will decide on the proposal after internal consultations.
Vijayendra offered no fresh evidence for the claim, citing internal developments in the Congress.