'Kumaraswamy, Shivakumar will storm hotel': Rebel MLAs seek protection

Ten rebel MLAs from the Congress-JD(S) combine have written to the Mumbai police commissioner expressing fear for their lives during visits of Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar to the city on Wednesday.

On Wednesday morning, police stopped Shivakumar at the gates of the Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel in Powai, where the MLAs are staying. The Congress leader reportedly claimed he had a booking at the hotel.

The letter signed by 10 MLAs said they have heard that Kumaraswamy, Shivakumar and others are going to storm the hotel premises they are staying in and they feel threatened by this.

The letter stated that the MLAs were not willing to meet Kumaraswamy and Shivakumar and wanted the police not to allow them to enter the hotel premises.

The signatories of the letter are Shivram Hebbar, Pratap Gowda Patil, B.C. Patil, Byrati Basavraj, S.T. Somshekar, Ramesh Jarkiholi, Gopalaiyya, H. Vishwanath, Narayan Gowda and Mahesh Kumutali.

News agency ANI reported on Wednesday morning that the Mumbai Police had deployed additional security outside the Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel. The agency also quoted the Mumbai Police as saying “Shivakumar will not be allowed inside hotel where 10 rebel Karnataka Congress-JD(S) MLAs are staying. He will not be stopped before the gates of the hotel.”

However, Shivakumar who arrived at the hotel premises by 8.30am affirmed he was not perturbed by the security. Shivakumar said, “Let Mumbai Police or any other force be deployed. Let them do their duty. We've come to meet our friends. We were born together in politics, we will die together in politics. They are our party men.”

Shivakumar was quoted by ANI as saying, “We can't go for a divorce immediately. There is no question of threatening; we love & respect each other”.

The copies of the letter from the 10 MLAs have been marked to the Zone 10 deputy commissioner of police, senior inspector of Powai police station and the management of the hotel they are staying in.

Source