Pratibha nod for President's rule in Karnataka

Karnataka was on Tuesday brought under Central rule after collapse of the JDS-BJP coalition government with a Presidential proclamation that kept the state assembly in suspended animation.

President Pratibha Patil signed the declaration under Article 356 soon after the Union Cabinet recommended imposition of Central rule and suspension of the House pending Parliament's approval of the proclamation, Home Ministry sources said.

They said the proclamation to this effect would be issued by the ministry.

The stage for imposition of President's rule in the state was set on Monday night when Governor Rameshwar Thakur recommended the measure after Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy resigned on being bluntly told by him that he did not have the required numbers to win a floor test.

The decision to impose President's Rule was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the recommendation of the Governor after BJP withdrew support to the Kumaraswamy government when it refused to transfer power to it.

The Cabinet approved the Governor's recommendation to impose President's rule in accordance with the Bommai judgment under which the President's only power is to keep the assembly in suspended animation till the proclamation was ratified by both houses of Parliament, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said after the cabinet meeting.

"The Presidential proclamation will be tabled in the winter session of Parliament," he said, adding the assembly would be dissolved after that.

The Finance Minister said the Governor had not recommended dissolution of the assembly while recommending imposition of President's rule.

Karnataka is the first state to be brought under Central rule since Pratibha Patil became the President in July this year.