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Karnataka: JD-S, BJP meet put off for Sat

By Vicky Nanjappa in Bangalore
August 24, 2007 19:20 IST

The much awaited coordination committee meeting between the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Bharatiya Janata Party was put off to Saturday as both the Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy as well the Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa were out of Bangalore.

A senior BJP leader as well as the chief minister's office, told rediff.com that the meeting will take place at Krishna, the chief minister's official residence on Saturday at 8 am.

The meet is meant to sort out the differences between the warring coalition partners, the JD-S and the BJP.

Differences had cropped up between the two parties, allegedly due to a statement by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy that the alliance with the BJP had hurt the secular image of the JD-S.

The furious BJP leaders boycotted Thursday's Cabinet meeting and demanded an explanation. They also voiced their concerns about the manner in which officers were being transferred by the JD-S without the consent of the BJP.

The chief minister however on his part has maintained that the transfer of power would be smooth and urged the BJP as well as the JD-S not to voice their opinion regarding the transfer of power in public. As per the agreement, the JD-S is to hand over power to the BJP on October 3.

JD-S supremo and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda said that there is no need for his party members to be apprehensive about the alliance with the BJP.

Senior BJP leader and former Union minister, Sushma Swaraj is confident that the power transfer in Karnataka will be smooth.

Vicky Nanjappa in Bangalore

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