After resort politics, BJP's 'floor test' at Vidhana Soudha as MLAs ditch comfort for overnight 'dharna'
BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa declared his party members would stay put in the House itself overnight and even till the time the trust vote was decided.
With pillows to rest and a cook to prepare food, the BJP began its overnight "dharna" in the Vidhana Soudha against the Congress-JD(S) government in the state for dragging its feet on trust vote late Thursday night.
The party's state unit president BS Yeddyurappa announced to stage a night-long-sit-in with party MLAs in the Assembly to protest against the Congress-JD(S) government.
BJP legislator Prabhu Chauhan was seen coming with a bed and pillow for the protest in the Vidhana Soudha, while others were seen carrying food plates and bucket.
It was an anticlimactic Thursday in Karnataka as a combative Congress-JD(S) coalition delayed the trust vote by another day. However, after a day of chaos the Governor intervened with a letter to Chief Minister, asking him to hold the floor test by 1.30pm on Friday.
An earlier letter to the Speaker by Governor Vajubhai Vala to conduct the floor test by the end of Thursday was merely dismissed as a suggestion and not an order.
Before the house was adjourned, BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa declared his party members would stay put in the House itself overnight and even till the time the trust vote was decided.
BJP alleged the ruling coalition was deliberately prolonging the trust vote to buy time to shore up its numbers and save the government.
Here are some pictures from Vidhan Soudha:
Two chapatis, curd rice for 250 members (including legislators) for dinner has been arranged, said TR Bhatt, who was arranging food for the legislators.
"For breakfast tomorrow morning, it is Idli, Vada with Coffee," he said.
Talking about the Governor's letter, former speaker KG Bopaiah said, "It is not a letter. It is a direction under the constitution. As per the constitution, he can issue a direction to the Chief Minister to prove majority."
Asked if BJP sees "opportunity" in it, he said, "Why not? The opportunity does not arise here. It is the constitutional obligation of the Chief Minister to prove majority on the floor of the house. So, the majority has to be proven on the floor of the house and not in the governor's house."
With pillows to rest and a cook to prepare food, the BJP began its overnight "dharna" in the Vidhana Soudha here against the Congress-JD(S) government in the state for dragging its feet on trust vote.
BJP legislator Prabhu Chauhan was seen coming with a bed and pillow for the protest in the Vidhana Soudha, while others were seen carrying food plates and bucket.
The party's state unit president BS Yeddyurappa had announced to stage a night-long-sit-in with party MLAs in the Assembly to protest against the Congress-JD(S) government.
It was an anticlimactic Thursday in Karnataka as a combative Congress-JD(S) coalition delayed the trust vote by another day. However, after a day of chaos, the Governor intervened with a letter to Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, asking him to hold the floor test by 1.30 pm on Friday.
An earlier letter to the Speaker by Governor Vajubhai Vala to conduct the floor test by the end of Thursday was merely dismissed as a suggestion and not an order.
"Though a message as contemplated under Article 175(2) is sent to the Speaker, I am informed that the House is adjourned today i.e, 18-07-2019. Under these circumstances, I require you to prove your majority on the floor of the house on or before 1.30PM tomorrow," stated the Governor's letter to the CM.
BJP alleged the ruling coalition was deliberately prolonging the trust vote to buy time to shore up its numbers and save the government.
Kumaraswamy moved the motion of confidence in his wobbly 14-month old government that has been wracked by rebellion by a section of its MLAs threatening its survival for nearly two weeks.
The drama unfolded right from the word go as Kumaraswamy hit by the en masse resignation of 16 ruling coalition MLAs moved a one-line motion, saying the House expressed confidence in his ministry.
Twenty lawmakers did not turn up Thursday, including 17 from the ruling coalition, 12 of whom are holed up in a hotel in Mumbai, as the House debated the motion in a surcharged atmosphere.
The House that barely focussed on the debate on the motion witnessed three adjournments, acrimony and repeated disruptions by belligerent slogan shouting Congress members before the proceedings were wound up for the day.
Before it was adjourned, BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa declared his party members would stay put in the House itself overnight and even till the time the trust vote was decided.
"We will stay until the trust vote is decided," Yeddyurappa said after the BJP, exasperated over the delay in taking up the voting, also rushed a delegation to Governor Vala to ask Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar to conclude the trust vote process by the end of the day itself.
After announcing that BJP MLAs would stage an overnight 'dharna' at the Vidhana Soudha, Yeddyurappa led his party legislators and decided to sleep on the floor.
Yeddyurappa had resigned as CM after being in office for three days before facing the trust vote in May last year. Kumaraswamy who succeeded him had won the trust vote after forming the coalition government.
Kumaraswamy’s actions can be perceived in two ways.
Firstly, he could be using the delay to pressurise the rebels with the threat of disqualification, hoping it would prompt them to return to the party fold. When an MLA gets disqualified he becomes ineligible to hold a ministership or position in the government until reelected.
Secondly, Congress and JD(S) are seeking to undo the Supreme Court order insulating the rebel MLAs, that does not compel them to attend the session despite a whip. If the Congress can get the Supreme Court to uphold the right of a party to issue whip to all its members (rebel or not), then the Congress and JD(S) get solid grounds to move disqualification proceedings against the dissidents.