Congress MLA from Ballari, Anand Singh has resigned from the Karnataka Assembly on Monday. Anand met Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar at his residence in Bengaluru and later confirmed his resignation to reporters.
Anand also submitted a letter to the Governor confirming his resignation. "With reference to the above cited subject (Resignation from Karnataka Assembly), I submitted my resignation to the Honourable Speaker on July 1, 2019, 7.15am at his residence. This is for your kind information and requeste further necessary action," read the letter.
When the media asked what the reason behind his resignation was, he said, "For me, the reason is the injustice being meted out to my district. On June 17, I told reporters in Ballari and my requests have not been given a response. I had written to the government against the land being given to Jindal group. The government should set things right even if previous governments have done deals like this."
He also said that he had asked the government to make Vijayanagara a district on its own.
Anand was elected as the MLA of Vijayanagar in Ballari district in the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections. His decision to resign set off speculation that more unhappy MLAs in the Congress party will follow suit, particularly MLAs close to Ramesh Jarkiholi including Mahesh Kumathalli and B Nagendra are set to resign.
The strength of the coalition in the Assembly is down to 118 with Anand's resignation. Congress has 79 MLAs, the JD(S) has 37 MLAs and there is 1 BSP MLA. Two independent MLAs - R Shankar from Ranebennur and H Nagesh from Mulbagal constituencies - are also supporting the coalition. The BJP has 105 MLAs in the Assembly. The majority mark in the Assembly is 113.
Umesh Jadhav previously resigned and defected to the BJP. He also defeated veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge in the Lok Sabha elections in May.
Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy is currently in the US and is set to return on July 8. "I have been observing all the affairs of the state especially the BJP's attempt to destabilize our government. It will remain a dream for them," he said.
ಅಮೇರಿಕದ ನ್ಯೂ ಜೆರ್ಸಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಲಭೈರವೇಶ್ವರ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನದ ಭೂಮಿ ಪೂಜೆ ಸ್ವಾಮೀಜಿಗಳ ದಿವ್ಯ ಸಾನ್ನಿಧ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದಿದೆ.
— H D Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) July 1, 2019
ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಎಲ್ಲ ವಿದ್ಯಮಾನಗಳನ್ನು ಇಲ್ಲಿಂದಲೇ ಗಮನಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ರಾಜ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಸರ್ಕಾರವನ್ನು ಅಸ್ಥಿರಗೊಳಿಸುವ #BJP ಯ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ 'ನಿರಂತರ ಹಗಲುಗನಸು'
Anand Singh briefly went incommunicado after the results of the Karnataka Assembly elections threw up a hung verdict last year. He was not among the Congress MLAs herded into the Eagleton Resort in Bidadi in Ramanagara ahead of the trust vote in the Assembly. However, he later surfaced and gave his support to the Congress.
In January 2019, he was assaulted by fellow MLA JN Ganesh at the Eagleton Resort on another occasion Congress MLAs were cooped up there.
Recently, Anand Singh opposed the Karnataka government's proposal to go ahead with the absolute sale deed of iron-rich land in Ballari to Jindal’s JSW Limited at a throwaway price.
Anand, had only joined the Congress from the BJP in January 2018 and was previously Tourism Minister in the BJP government that ruled the state from 2008-2013.