Floor test in Karnataka tomorrow: Here's everything that happened inside Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered a floor test in the Karnataka Assembly at 4 PM tomorrow, drastically slashing the 15-day window given by the Governor to BJP Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa to prove majority.

The BJP has emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats, followed by the Congress with 78, JD(S) with 37 and three seats have gone to others in the 224-member Assembly where elections were held for 222 seats.

The majority mark is 112 seats and the post-poll alliance strength of the Congress-JD(S) combine, which claims to have 117 MLAs, has alleged foul play in the Governor inviting BJP to form the government.

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa said that they are 100 percent confident of proving majority.

Yeddyurappa further said that he would inform the state's Governor Vajubhai R. Vala to hold an assembly session at 11 a.m. tomorrow.

Here's everything that happened inside Supreme court

11:00 am | B S Yeddyurappa places in SC letters he had written to the governor in which he had staked claim to form govt in Karnataka. 

11:05 am | SC asks Yeddyurappa's counsel Mukul Rohatgi to give copies of letters to lawyers representing the Congress-JD(S) combine.

11:05 am | The single largest party is the mandate of the people of Karnataka who have thrown out the ruling party Congress, Yeddyurappa's counsel tells SC.

11:30 am | Justice A K Sikri said let the House decide and the best course would be floor test: SC

11:34 am | SC suggests floor test be held tomorrow itself. However, CM seeks time at least till Monday

11:40 am | A reasonable time should be given for conducting floor test, Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Karnataka CM Yeddyurappa, tells SC

11:45 am | SC orders floor test in Karnataka Assembly at 4 PM tomorrow. 

What the bench said

► Karnataka government and the Governor not to nominate any MLA from the Anglo-Indian community to participate in the floor test tomorrow.

► The newly elected government not to take any major policy decision till it proves majority in the House.

► The Pro tem speaker will take decisions in accordance with the law on the issue of floor test and ordered the authorities, including the Director General of Police, to ensure law and order outside the Karnataka Assembly.

► The bench, also comprising Justices S A Bobde and Ashok Bhushan, turned down Yeddyurappa's request for a secret ballot during the floor test.

Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the BJP and Yeddyurappa argued:

Rohatgi disputed the signatures of the MLAs in one of the letters given by Congress-JD(S) combine leader H D Kumaraswamy to the Governor.

There was no pre-poll alliance between the Congress and JD(S) and they have formed an "unholy alliance" after the elections.

"The single largest party (BJP) is the mandate of people of Karnataka who have thrown out the ruling party. The ruling party has much less members than us. There was no pre-poll alliance. It (Congress-JD(S)) is an unholy alliance."

Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the combine said: 

The first letter of Yeddyurappa was written on May 15 at 5 PM, even before the counting was over or the Election Commission given the certificates to the MLAs. "Therefore, at that time, it was not clear who has the majority and Yeddyurappa could not have claimed a majority at that time in his letter to the Governor," he said.

► In a historic pre-dawn hearing yesterday, the top court had after more than three hours of hearing, made it clear that it was not interfering with the Governor's decision to invite the saffron party to form a government in the state in which BJP with 104 seats has emerged as the single largest party.

► During the high-voltage hearing, which went on from 2.11 AM to 5.28 AM, the top court had made it clear that the swearing-in and government formation would be subject to the final outcome of the case.
The court had directed the Centre to place before it two communications sent by Yeddyurappa to the Governor in which he had staked claim to form government, saying their perusal was necessary to decide the case. 

(With agency inputs)