No threat to Shettar govt, won't ask for vote of confidence: K'taka Governor

Bangalore: In a U-turn, Karnataka Governor HR Bhardwaj on Saturday said that there was no threat to the state government presently and that he will not ask Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar for a vote of confidence. "I will not ask the Shettar government for a vote of confidence. Thirteen MLAs resigning does not pose a threat to the government," he said.

He added that Shettar had assured him of good governance. "I have handed over all the papers I got from the 13 legislators. He is the leader of the legislative party. He has to take action. I have summoned the Assembly for the 4th. Now the 13 have gone. That does not pose a threat to his government. I am watching the issue. He is the CM. As long as he is in majority, he will advice me. Once he loses the majority, I won't act on his advice."

On Friday, Bhardwaj had said that he would ask Shettar to prove his majority and summoned the Vidhan Sabha on February 4. Hours later, Shettar claimed that he had not been asked to prove his majority, rather about the MLAs resignation. He added that the had told the Governor that he had the numbers.

Meanwhile, on Friday, sensing its opportunity, the Congress trained its guns on Shettar. "It is high time that the government should prove its majority or go home," AICC general secretary BK Hariprasad said.

Hariprasad, who is from Karnataka, alleged that there was no governance and the "resignation drama" has worsened the situation further.