Karnataka brought under President's rule

Karnataka was on Tuesday brought under President's rule for the second time in little over a month and the Assembly kept under suspended animation, but a decision has been taken to dissolve it when the government approaches Parliament.

President Pratibha Patil signed the proclamation bringing the state under Central rule after the Union Cabinet accepted Governor Rameshwar Thakur's recommendation in this regard and advised such a course of action, sources said.

The Centre's action comes a day after the first-ever Bharatiya Janata Party government in the south collapsed following coalition partner Janata Dal-Secular's decision to vote against the government's confidence vote in the Assembly on Monday.

 An early morning meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh just before he left for Singapore took the decision.

"The report of the governor has been approved by the Cabinet and a recommendation has gone to the President for immediate imposition of President's rule in Karnataka," Union Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi said.

He said the government will seek the approval of Parliament for imposition of Central rule in Karnataka and dissolution of the state Assembly at the "earliest opportunity."

"We are coming back to Parliament both for approval of President's Rule and dissolution of the House," Dasmunsi said.

The Cabinet had met on Monday night to assess the political situation on the basis of the governor's report in the wake of the collapse of the BJP-led government following ally JD-S' refusal to support it.

The Centre's decision to impose President's rule, the second time in the last two months, brings to an end the political drama that was witnessed in the state on the issue of transfer of power between coalition partners BJP and JD-S.

Karnataka was under Central rule for 34 days from October 9 to November 12 after the fall of the JD-S-BJP coalition government headed by H D Kumaraswamy and the state Assembly was kept under suspended animation.

The saffron party's B S Yeddyurappa was sworn in as chief minister of the first BJP-led government in the south on November 8.

The fresh crisis was triggered by BJP's refusal to accept JD-S' latest demands to sign a new power-sharing deal alloting plum ministerial portfolios to it.

After JD-S refused to vote for BJP, Yeddyurappa announced his decision to quit in the House on Monday and submitted his resignation to the governor, who then recommended imposition of President's rule in the state.

In the 224-member House, the BJP has a 79 legislators, followed by Congress 64, JD-S 58, Janata Dal-United 5, Vatal Paksha, Kannada Naadu, Communist Party of India-Marxist and Revolutionary Party of India one each and independents 13.