Ambika Soni, general secretary of the Congress party, said that it was for the Janata Dal-Secular leader and former prime minister of India H D Deve Gowda to sort out the differences within his party and ensure that there is no threat to the Congress-JD-S government in Karnataka, which is led by Chief Minister Dharam Singh.

Soni while addressing a press conference at the G M C Balyogi stadium -- venue of the plenary session of the Congress party to be held from Jannuary 21-23, 2006, -- expressed the hope that the H D Kumaraswamy, president of the JD-S in Karnataka and son of the former prime minister Deve Gowda would see reason and return to strengthen the hands of the secular power.

• Karnataka: A Coalition's Fall

"It is a worrying thing that the coalition governments have hiccups. I believe that Chief Minister Dharam Singh, senior leader A K Anthony who is incharge of the Karnataka and the Congress leadership would be able to steer the government through present crisis," she said.

She admitted that the defying attitude of Kumaraswamy could become a handicap in smooth sailing.

"We do expect Dharam Singh to attend the session, but he would have to decide keeping in mind the situation in Karnataka and how things unfold over the next couple of days. On January 22, we would be discussing the coalition politics. Let us see what comes out of it during the discussions. The JD-S has been seeing ups and downs in last few years and this is one such period. This is an unnatural situation and it is for seasoned politicians like Deve Gowda who is committed to secular values to find a solution in the interest of the coalition politics," she said.