Trust vote: Karnataka Congress MP confirms support for government

On Thursday morning speculation was rife that two MPs from the Congress would vote against the party in the trust vote to be held on July 22. As the day progressed, the rumour was that two MPs from the Congress in Karnataka, R L Jalappa and Ambarish were being wooed by the Bharatiya Janata Party to vote against the Congress on July 22.

R L Jalappa, a senior Congress man representing the Chikkballapur parliamentary constituency in Karnataka, however dismissed this as a speculation. He spoke to rediff.com about his plans and maintained that he was very much a Congress man.

Jalappa said that he is confident that the Congress would sail through the trust vote and remain in power till the end of its term. He said that certain vested interests were trying to drag him into a controversy by spreading rumours that he would vote against his party.

I say with a lot of confidence my party will win the trust vote. I am Congress man and will remain so till the last moment and there is no question of me voting against my party. I am off to New Delhi to attend the party meeting and my information is that all is well within the Congress.

When questioned about the BJP trying to woo some Congress men from Karnataka to vote in favour of the motion on July 22, he said, "As per my knowledge, it is all a rumour and no BJP man has even tried contacting anyone of us. I am sure that all the MPs from the Congress, even in Karnataka, will vote against the motion and see the Manmohan Singh government through."

Jalappa had earlier said that he would not vote for the Congress if it tied up with the Janata Dal-Secular. He said there were certain issues earlier and that now they are non-existent at the moment. Such small differences can be sorted out later, but the prime concern is now to save the government, he said.

Jalappa further added that not only will the government pull on, but the nuclear deal will also go through. It is a minor setback as of now, but I am confident that everything will sail through smoothly, he also added.

While Jalappa made his stand clear, there was no word from another MP, Ambarish. No official statement was made by him and sources close to him said that he did not wish to comment on the subject.