The Congress-JDS government in Karnataka is hanging by a thread ahead of the floor test today. The rebel MLAs have refused to yield after the Supreme Court on Wednesday held they cannot be compelled to attend the assembly session to decide the coalition's fate.
head of the crucial trust vote today, the Congress-JD(S) government in Karnataka hangs by a thread after the Supreme Court on Wednesday held that the 15 rebel MLAs cannot be compelled to participate in the proceedings of the Assembly session.
The court order, which virtually sounded the death knell for Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy in the battle for numbers, gave Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar the freedom to decide on the resignation of the rebel MLAs.
The ruling coalition's strength in the House is 117 -- Congress 78, JD(S) 37, BSP 1, and nominated 1, besides the Speaker. With the support of the two independents, the opposition BJP has 107 MLAs in the 225-member House, including the nominated MLA and Speaker. If the resignations of the 16 MLAs are accepted or if they are not present in the House, the ruling coalition's tally will be reduced to 101. Stay tuned to IndiaToday.in as we bring you the latest updates.
Here are the LIVE updates:
10.19 am: Coalition less than 105, says BS Yeddyurappa.
8.20 am: Coalition delegation meets Speaker
A joint delegation of the coalition, including Kumaraswamy and Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah, met the Speaker and told him the Supreme Court had restricted their right to issue a whip, but "we have the right to impose a whip."
Speaking to reporters after the meet, minister Krishna Byregowda said the SC had stated that attending or not attending the session was left to the MLAs, but the assembly rules state that the legislators had to seek permission for their absence. "We have asked the Speaker if this relaxation has been granted," he said.
8.16 am: Congress' pointsman D K Shivakumar has maintained that the party can issue a whip to ensure the presence of all the party MLAs in the House and take necessary action against them for any violation. He accused some BJP leaders of trying to misguide that the whip is not valid.
8.10 am: Will withdraw resignation, vote in favour of govt: Cong MLA Ramalinga Reddy
Congress MLA Ramalinga Reddy Wednesday said he has decided to withdraw his resignation from the assembly and will vote in favour of the trust vote to be sought by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy.
I will take part in the assembly session tomorrow [Thursday] and vote in favour of the party. I will continue to remain in the party and serve as MLA, he told PTI here.
POLITICAL TURBULENCE IN KARNATAKA: TIMELINE
The current political crisis was triggered a fortnight ago, with a raft of resignations by rebel lawmakers, unhappy with the coalition for a variety of reasons, from not getting ministerial berths to "dominance" of the Deve Gowda family.
Kumaraswamy, who served as Chief Minister for 20 months in 2006-07 at the head of a JD(S)-BJP government, became the chief minister for a second term in May last year.
The 59-year-old managed to be back at the helm with the support of the Congress after the May 2018 assembly polls threw up a fractured mandate, with BJP emerging as the single largest party, but falling short of numbers to be in power.
A humiliating defeat for the ruling coalition in the Lok Sabha polls that saw them win only two of the 28 seats in Karnataka, with BJP walking away with 25 and an independent backed by it with one, exacerbated simmering tensions.
As many as 16 MLAs, 13 from the Congress and three from JD(S), resigned, while independent MLAs R Shankar and H Nagesh withdrew support to the government. Adding to the ongoing political drama, the spotlight on Wednesday turned on the Supreme Court when a bench said the Speaker was free to decide on the resignations of the rebel MLAs within the time-frame decided by him.
Congress, meanwhile, pressed for disqualification of 13 MLAs, including independent R Shankar, who had merged his Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party with it. Happy with the SC verdict, Karnataka BJP president B S Yeddyurappa said it was a "moral victory" for the rebel MLAs.
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