IANS
Bangalore, Jan 21: Beleaguered Karnataka Chief Minister N Dharam Singh on Friday said he would step down even before securing a trust vote for his coalition government by January 27 if the central leadership of his Congress party directed him to do so.
"I am ready for any eventuality. As a disciplined soldier of the party, I have no hesitation to quit if the party high command desires. It is for the party president (Sonia Gandhi) to decide," Singh told reporters at his residence.
At the same time, he expressed confidence that he would win the trust vote through a "miracle" to save his 19-month-old coalition from imminent collapse.
"I am confident of sailing through. You can expect a miracle to happen by Jan 27," Singh said after holding hectic consultations with cabinet colleagues and party leaders on the fallout of a revolt by a majority of the legislators of the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) MLAs, which is the Congress' ally in the coalition.
JD-S leader H D Kumaraswamy has split the party and staked claim to form a new government with the backing of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Ruling out negotiations with Kumaraswamy or other JD-S rebels, Singh said he was in touch with JD-S chief H D Deve Gowda to resolve the crisis before January 27, by when the government has to prove its majority in the assembly.
"Gowda has assured me to find a way out of the deadlock by convincing Kumaraswamy and his party legislators to support the present coalition government. Efforts are on to prevent the communal party (BJP) from coming to power through the backdoor," he asserted.
"The opposition party is indulging in rank opportunism by taking advantage of differences in the JD-S to wrest power from us."
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Margaret Alva said the onus for saving the government rested with Gowda, as the current crisis stemmed from the revolt by JD-S legislators spearheaded by his son.
"We only hope Gowda will bring around his son and the rebel legislators soon. We are confident of sailing through the crisis," Alva said.