Bangalore: Refusing to climb down, the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) led by former Prime Minister H D Devegowda today (May 24, 2004) stuck to its demand that the proposed coalition Government with the Congress in the State should be led by it.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with JD-S legislators at a resort on city outskirts, Gowda said since the mandate was against the Congress, their demand for the Congress support to a JD-S led Government with Siddaramaiah as Chief Minister was "reasonable".

Gowda said the Congress was "morally bound" to accept the JD-S demand and asked it not to insist on the Maharashtra model, where the Congress as the bigger partner is heading the coalition and has left the Deputy Chief Minister's post to its junior partner, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

The Congress, he said, should not insist on the "Maharashtra or Jammu and Kashmir model" as the situation in Karnataka was different.

Gowda said he would leave for Delhi along with party State leaders, including Siddaramaiah, to convey their decision to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

He appealed to the Congress to accept the JD-S' demand, which he termed as "reasonable".

The Congress and JD-S have been holding talks since the State Assembly polls threw up a hung Assembly, but each side has stuck its demand for Chief Ministership.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with 79 seats emerged as the single largest party in the Assembly polls, which saw the JD-S come out as the king maker, with 58 seats and the Congress as the number two party with 65 seats in the 224-member House.