Amid turmoil, Congress workers hold protest outside Bengaluru party office

Bengaluru: Congress workers on Sunday staged a protest outside the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office here, demanding Congress MLAs to withdraw their resignations for the smooth functioning of the HD Kumaraswamy-led JD(S)-Congress government in the state.

Congress workers were seen holding up placards seated outside the party office. With party flags in their hands, the protestors were seen raising slogans.

The coalition government in the state slumped into crisis following the resignation of their 11 MLAs from the membership of the state Assembly.

However, JD(S) MLA H Vishwanath claimed that 14 MLAs have jointly tendered resignations to Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar and requested him to accept them. The Speaker, however, has not yet accepted the resignations.

The strength of the ruling coalition in Karnataka has come down to 105, which is eight short of the half-way mark of 113 for a majority.

Amid the turmoil, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy is slated to return to Bengaluru this evening.