A dissident spokesman said that the rebels who met here at the residence of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda resolved to set November 3 as the deadline for the party president, Sharad Yadav to despatch them a written communication fixing the date for JDLP with specific agenda to discuss the leadership issue.

Meanwhile, two no-confidence motions by Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party against the Patel Ministry were admitted in the Karnataka Assembly which began its session on a stormy note today.

Soon after the motions were admitted, Patel said he was ready to face the trial of strength but sought at least three days' time for replying to the debate even as a determinedOpposition demanded that Speaker Ramesh Kumar suspend Question Hour and take up discussion on the motions.

The Speaker said the date for debate on the motions would be fixed by the business advisory committee.

The day's proceedings kicked off to an acrimonious start with Congress and BJP arguing that the discussion on no-confidence motions precede other matters as the Ministry had been reduced to minority following revolt in the ruling Janata Dal.

Congress leader M Mallikarjuna Kharge and BJP floor leader K S Eswarappa declared they were not ready to accept replies from the Patel Ministry on any issue raised by the Opposition unless the Chief Minister proved his majority in the house. The chief minister was duty bound to prove his majority before getting on to other legislative business, they said while B S Yediyurappa, a BJP member, demanded the motions be put to vote directly without any debate. However, the Speaker turned down their plea.

Rumpus broke out after Yediyurappa said loyalists of theChief Minister were indulging in horse-trading, triggering noisy protest from treasury benches with Law Minister M C Nanaiah stating that the BJP member's remark showed the MLAs in ``poor light and as a purchaseable commodity''. Eshwarappa said that never in the history of the state had as many as 50 legislators from the ruling party expressed a lack of confidence in their own leadership. The havoc caused by the unprecented rain in the the state was being neglected in favour of the kind of groupism for which the Congress has been well known, he said.