Karnataka Trust Vote: Assembly Adjourned For The Day

The Karnataka Assembly has been adjourned for the day. BJP MLAs have decided to sit on an over night 'dharna' in the state assembly demanding that the Speaker replies to the Governor's letter and holds a floor test. Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala had directed Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar to consider the trust vote of Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy-led coalition government by the end of the day. ANI

Karnataka Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar to Karnataka Home Minister MB Patil: Please contact the family members of Shrimant Patil (Congress MLA) immediately. Give a detailed report to me by tomorrow, it does not look natural. If Home Minister can't ensure protection, I will talk to DGP. https://t.co/aV6VYY4axU

— ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2019

Bengaluru: Congress leader DK Shivakumar with BJP MLA B Sriramulu in Karnataka Assembly. pic.twitter.com/SlU4nrO8rw

— ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2019

Till we get clarification on Supreme Court's previous order, it is not appropriate to take floor test in this session which is against the Constitution, Congress leader Siddaramaiah said during the trust vote.

If the whip is applicable and the rebel MLAs do not come to the house for the confidence motion because of the Supreme Court order, it will be a big loss to the coalition government, Siddaramaiah added. ANI

Being a former Chief Minister, being the leader of opposition, he (BS Yeddyurappa) is misguiding the nation, misguiding the court, Congress leader DK Shivakumar said during the trust vote. ANI

This House holds Supreme Court in highest esteem. Let me make it clear to leader of Congress Legislature Party that this office is not restraining you from exercising any of your authorities. I've no role to play in that,” speaker KR Ramesh Kumar said today during the trust vote debate.

“If you intend to implead yourself as one of the respondents before the Supreme Court for amending this you are at liberty to do so,” he added.

Speaking about the absent members of the assembly, he said “When a member chooses not to come, our attendants will not permit them to sign the register of attendance. The concerned member will not be entitled to draw any emolument that is meant for the member to be drawn for being present in the House.” ANI

“I have self respect and so do my ministers. I have to make some clarifications. Who is responsible for destabilising this government?" asked CM HD Kumaraswamy during the Karnataka trust vote debate in the state assembly. ANI

Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for almost an hour today after opposition Congress and Samajwadi Party members created an uproar over the Supreme Court ruling on the Karnataka political crisis and the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh.

As soon as listed papers were laid and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar made a statement on International Court of Justice’s verdict in the Kulbhushan Jadav case, the Congress and SP members were up on their feet raising their respective issues.

Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu did not allow Congress leader Anand Sharma's point of order on the Supreme Court judgement on the Karnataka crisis as well as the notice given by SP leader Ramgopal Yadav under Rule 267 seeking suspension of business to take up the issue of deteriorating law and order in Uttar Pradesh. PTI

#Mumbai: Karnataka Congress MLA Shrimant Patil who was staying with other Congress MLAs at Windflower Prakruthi Resort in Bengaluru, reached Mumbai last night, currently admitted to a hospital in Mumbai after he complained of chest pain. pic.twitter.com/wojgD6R443

— ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2019

Bengaluru: Debate underway in #Karnataka Assembly on trust vote pic.twitter.com/TBVZHtm3ft

— ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2019

#Karnataka: N Mahesh, BSP MLA is not present in the House during trust motion.

— ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2019

Karnartaka BJP President BS Yeddyurappa said the Congress-JD(S) alliance will be defeated in the Karnataka floor test today. “We are 101 percent confident. They are less than 100, we are 105. There is no doubt that their motion will be defeated,” said Yeddyurappa at the Vidhan Soudha in Bengaluru. ANI

Karnataka: BJP State President BS Yeddyurappa & BJP MLAs arrive at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru. Karnataka government will be facing floor test today. pic.twitter.com/MBvwjqz7L4

— ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2019

Congress leaders Wednesday spoke in divergent voices on the Supreme Court verdict in the Karnataka political crisis, with chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala saying it's a "terrible precedent" but his colleague Abhishek Singhvi claiming victory.

"We are happy as a political party that we have emerged victorious," Singhvi, also a senior lawyer who appeared for the Karnataka Assembly Speaker in the case, told reporters outside Parliament.

"I welcome the Supreme Court to have given a decision as per the Constitution and law," he said accusing the BJP of "spreading misinformation and false propaganda".

His colleague and the Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, however, had a counter view. "Supreme Court’s order nullifying the whip and by extension, operation of Constitution's Xth Schedule to punish MLAs betraying the public mandate, sets a terrible judicial precedent,” Surjewala tweeted. "Blanket protection to MLAs, who are driven not by ideology but by far baser concerns, is unheard of," he said. PTI

Karnataka Congress MLA Ramalinga Reddy has decided to withdraw his resignation from the assembly and will vote in favour of the trust vote to be sought by Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy today.

“I will take part in the assembly session and vote in favour of the party. I will continue to remain in the party and serve as MLA," Reddy said in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

Reddy, a former minister, was among the 13 Congress and three JD(S) MLAs who have tendered their resignations while two Independent MLAs have withdrawn their support to the Kumaraswamy government, plunging Karnataka into a political crisis. PTI

The Congress-JD(S) government goes into the trust vote as a minority and Bharatiya Janata Party enjoys a numerical advantage, said Krishna Prasad, former editor-in-chief of Outlook magazine. Tthere is no “political morality” left in the BJP and even if the party forms the government, it will be “riding a tiger”.

“This is the sixth attempt by the BJP to dislodge the Congress-JD(S) government. It has engineered an absolute subversion of democracy by whipping away these MLAs to Mumbai in their own aircraft in a hotel owned by one of their own members,” Prasad said. “The picture is sad and tragic. This is naked lust for power and the BJP is playing with fire.”

National Institute of Advanced Studies Professor Narendra Pani, however, considers this democratic. “This kind of politics is a massive decentralisation of power right down to the constituency level,” Pani said, adding that MLAs today are powerful and they use this power to bargain between national parties. (read more)

The HD Kumaraswamy-led Congress-JD(S) government in Karnataka is hanging by a thread ahead of a trust vote today with the rebel MLAs refusing to yield after the Supreme Court held they cannot be compelled to attend the assembly session to decide the ruling coalition's fate.

As Congress-JD(S), with a truncated strength, struggled to shore up its numbers amid fading hopes, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the 15 rebel MLAs "ought not" to be compelled to participate in the proceedings of the ongoing session of the Karnataka Assembly.

The court verdict was interpreted in political circles as a relief for the rebel MLAs, as it categorically said an option should be given to them as to whether they wanted to take part or stay out of the assembly proceedings.