In U-turn, Ramalinga Reddy says he will withdraw resignation, vote in favour of govt

Bengaluru, July 17: In a huge relief for the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition, senior Congress leader Ramalinga Reddy has agreed to withdraw his resignation and vote for the government during the trust motion.

I will take part in the assembly session tomorrow and vote in favour of the party. I will continue to remain in the party and serve as MLA, he told.

Reddy, a former minister, is among the 13 Congress and three JDS MLAs who have tendered their resignations while two independent legislators have withdrawn their support to the 14-month old Kumaraswamy government, leaving it tottering on the brink of collapse.

The survival of the Congress-JD(S) government hangs precariously on the eve of the trust vote with the Supreme Court Wednesday holding that the 15 rebel Congress-JD(S) MLAs, who had moved it, cannot be compelled to participate in the proceedings of the ongoing assembly session.

While most of the rebel MLAs have been staying in Mumbai, Reddy chose to be in the city amid reports that Congress was trying to pacify him.

The party had also left him out while moving the Assembly Speaker for disqualification of the rebel MLAs, saying he was an "exception."

Reddy too had maintained he would remain in Congress and he has resigned only from the assembly.

Hours ahead of the floor test Thursday, Reddy said he would withdraw his resignation letter submitted to the Speaker on July 6.

The other rebel MLAs camping in Mumbai said there was no question of stepping back on their resignations or attending the session.

If the resignations of the 15 MLAs are accepted or if they stay away from the assembly, the ruling coalition's tally will plummet to 102, reducing the government to a minority.