I will not stop if BJP ministers want to quit: HDK

Bangalore, Oct 2: Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy today said he would not come in the way if Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers chose to quit his ministry en masse.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function organised to distribute possession certificates to the people living on the government land, he said he would not stop the BJP ministers if they wanted to quit the ministry.

BJP party sources had indicated yesterday that all the ministers would resign if the Chief Minister failed to quit his post, paving way for Deputy Chief Minister and BJP Chief Ministerial candidate B S Yediyurappa to take over the reins.

BJP emissary to Karnataka Yashwanth Sinha had set a deadline to Mr Kumaraswamy to relinguist his post by this evening and also wrote a letter to the Governor extending support to Mr Yediyurappa as the next Chief Minister as per the pre-government formation deal between the JD(S) and the BJP.

Earlier, the Chief Minister had rejected the BJP's ultimatum, saying, ''such assertions will not help the smooth transfer of power in the State.''

UNI