Up to the minute updates on the political drama in Karnataka
6:00 pm: TDP president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah of having “tried to deride the democracy”.
“Everyone in the country will be happy about this development. As a Chief Minister and as someone who believes in democracy, I am welcoming this,” he said commenting after BJP leader B.S. Yeddurappa couldn’t win the vote of confidence in Karnataka today.
He asked,”What message prime minister and BJP president combine have given to the nation by encouraging the corrupt? What is the message they are giving to the youth? Prime minister told he will be honest, will bring back black money from Swiss banks and abroad. But, BJP bribed up to Rs 10,000 for each vote in the Karnataka elections. ”
Naidu whose party had a bitter parting of ways with BJP some months back, also pointed out that the BJP had brought back Gali Janardhan Reddy “who looted the mineral wealth in the country” to the forefront and gave them seats.
He added, “On the lines of Tamil Nadu, they tried to repeat in Karnataka too by misusing the institution of Governor.” (Maneesh Chhibber reports)
5:10 pm: Union minister and senior BJP leader from Karnataka Ananth Kumar says the people of the state wanted a government led by Yeddyurappa.
“The BJP rose from 40 to 104 seats. The Congress was rejected. (Former CM) Siddaramaiah was rejected in his own constituency of Chamundeshwari. From 122 seats, they have fallen to 78 seats.
The JD(S) was a marginal party. It is a matter of great shame that despite having 78 seats, they (Congress) have fallen to their knees before the JD(S) just to stop the BJP, Yeddyurappa and the march of Modi and Shah.
The mandate was for the BJP. Everyone knows that the Congress-JD(S) coalition is a contradiction. They can’t go together. They have a negative nefarious agenda to stop the BJP.
They are making charges of horse-trading against the BJP but look at what the Congress has done. They have stolen the entire stable itself. The entire JD(S) itself.”
5:03 pm: Congress president Rahul Gandhi says,
“The BJP disrespects the mandate of the people. I would like to give my best wishes to people of Karnataka, our party leaders and Mr. Deve Gowda. The people of this country watched it on TV that all the MLAs of the BJP walked out when the national anthem was playing.”
“The country has shown the BJP, the PM and murder-accused Amit Shah that the institutions of the country are bigger than their moneybags.”
“The PM talks about corruption but it is clear that he is encouraging corruption and in a sense, he is corruption. The prime minister talks of corruption but the tapes are out there. The prime minister is corruption; he is aiding corruption.”
“My message to the PM is that he is not bigger than the people of India. And the PM needs to stop thinking that he is bigger than all institutions of the country.”
“The BJP doesn’t have the support of the people of Karnataka. The Congress and the JD(S) have the numbers and the vote per cent. The PM model of leadership is that of dictatorship.”
Rahul says the issue is not of whether the governor should resign or not.
“The bigger issue is that there is no institution in the country that is immune to the RSS. Even if this governor resigns, the next one will behave in the same way because the power is in the hands of the PM and the RSS,” he says in a press conference in New Delhi.
5:01 pm: Congress planning to turn H.D. Kumaraswamy’s oath-taking ceremony into a big show of Opposition unity. Sources say senior Congress leaders are already in touch with key faces in the Opposition on this. (Reports Maneesh Chhiber)
4:50 pm: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, till recently a key BJP ally, has welcomed the “victory of democracy” in Karnataka.
“As a chief minister and as someone who believes in democracy, I am welcoming this,” Naidu said.
“This is a historic moment in the history of Indian and Karnataka politics. Yeddyurappa by agreeing to the floor test in the assembly and then failing and fleeing is a victory for democracy. It is a victory of the Constitution.”
“It is a victory of the rule of law.”
“They got Modi and Shah to pressure the governor, and even though it was against the Constitution and the orders of the Supreme Court, the BJP legislature party leader Yeddyurappa was invited by the governor to form the government…. This was daylight murder of democracy.”
“It is the duty of all democrats to respect the verdict of the people.”
“The decision of the governor gave room and time for horse trading. Even Yeddyurappa has admitted that they tried to get in touch with Congress MLAs. It is clear that the BJP does not respect the Constitution and democracy. It shows they are big frauds. Modi is Hitler, Amit Shah is Goebbels.”
“They never talked of development, if you see their speeches. They thought they could do whatever they want — we are in power at the Centre, the governor is ours, we have people from the RSS — but the judiciary did not let them get away. Moreover, I want to thank our MLAs and the JD(S) MLAs. They resisted all temptation.”
“Even the people of the state were anxious that a communal party was returning to power. Never in the history of Independent India, have I come across such politics. We will meet today and take a decision on the future course of action today itself.”
4:29 pm: “I had told you that all our MLAs were with us,” D K Shivakumar of Congress tells reporters.
“We will now meet the governor; he has to invite us to form the government,” he says.
4:18 pm: Congress president Rahul Gandhi will make a statement in 15 minutes. Rahul was closely watching the high pitch political drama in Bangalore and was in talk with his senior leaders there.
Mamata Banerjee terms it a victory of regional front.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee tweets saying it is a win for democracy. She congratulated Deve Gowda, Kumaraswamy and Congress. Last she said it’s a victory of the regional front indicating a possible pre poll front against the BJP. (Reports Kumar Anshuman)
4:17 pm: Yeddyurappa walks out of Vidhana Soudha with Sreeramulu.
4:13 pm: Yeddyurappa heads to Raj Bhavan to submit his resignation, bringing his third stint at the helm in Karnataka to an end. At 55 hours, this is the shortest that he has been the chief minister — he held the post for 7 days in 2007 and 39 months in 2008.
3:44 pm: B.S. Yeddyurappa speaks in Karnataka assembly:
“Our PM Modi our party president Amit Shah made me party president on the birthday of B.R. Ambedkar and announced I would be the cm candidate. Our party generally does not have the tradition of announcing the names of CM candidates in advance.”
“I am moving this motion for this house to express its confidence in my government. Since I was named CM candidate until the election we travelled across the state.
We tried to find out the problems of the people. The kind of support I got from the people during the Parivartan Yatra is something I cannot forget for the rest of my life.”
“I want to thank the people of Karnataka for this from the bottom of my heart. The fight we put up for the people, the governance of Modi has been applauded across the world.”
“Our performance in power the last time, all of this helped us win 104 seats. The people did not give the Congress and the JD(S) a majority. The two parties, after losing, have gone against the wishes of the people and joined hands.”
“The largest party, the BJP, was invited to form the government.”
“The farmers of Karnataka have suffered, thousands have committed suicide. We have to provide irrigation facilities, help them. I would like to assure the people of Karnataka through this house that till my last breath, I will work for the farmers of Karnataka.”
“We have not been able to provide good irrigation facilities even after so many years after Independence. There is a shortage of potable water. This election has taken place at such a critical juncture for the state.”
“My only wish is to work for the 6.5 crore farmers of my state. I want to tell everyone in this state that I will pledge my life to this.”
“Whatever troubles come our way, we have to complete the irrigation projects, get drinking water for everyone and make sure farmers live with dignity.”
“I have never been one to not fulfil my duties. 6.5 crore is a huge number. PM Modi has also said that six rivers in India must be interlinked. We wanted to see that happen too.”
“PM Modi has done a lot for the state, disbursed funds for metro and other projects even when there was a Congress government in the state. He has never discriminated against the state even though it was a Congress government. PM Modi’s government at the Centre and Yeddyurappa’s in the state was to work together and make Karnataka a model state.”
“There’s nothing that’s lacking in our state. We have natural resources, forests. Today is a big test for me; in fact my entire life has been such. I am confident that I will win all 28 Lok Sabha seats in 2019. I promise PM Modi that.”
“And whenever elections are held the next time in the state, we will come back to power with more than 150 seats. I don’t know when the next elections will be: it could be in five years or earlier. I promise that we will win over 150 seats then and the lotus will once again bloom in Karnataka.”
“It is true that I spoke to some legislators. They asked me to answer swearing on my conscience. The Congress and the JD(S) did not allow their MLAs to even talk to their families. Imagine what they might have gone through.”
“I am resigning from the post of chief minister. I am going straight to the governor and resigning. I thank the Speaker for giving me the opportunity. I am still strong; I will work for the state. This is my promise. I am not going to move the trust vote.”
3:34 pm: MLA Anand Singh is back in Vidhan Sabha. D.K. Shivakumar has brought him back to the assembly. So, Singh is now back in Congress fold.
3:09 pm:
3:07 pm:
(Photo: Vijay Grover)
3:06 pm: Party sources say Yeddyurappa is likely to go “Vajpayee way”. Making an emotional speech before exit. (From: Assistant Editor Pragya Kaushika)
2:49 pm: Sources very close to Yeddyurappa say that he is preparing to resign. He does not have the numbers. (From: Rohini Swamy)
2:30 pm: According to highly placed sources in the BJP, the party has not been able to manage the required numbers to prove its majority in the house. B.S. Yeddyurappa is likely to give a speech and resign before the trust vote. This is the party’s exit plan if, within the next hour, it still can’t manage the needed figures. Sources say the party’s calculation has been that even if it does not manage numbers, it will get sympathy on the ground for trying to form a government since it had the mandate by being the single largest party. It will point out that it was not allowed to by the Congress despite the party being voted out. If Yeddyurappa does resign, there won’t be the need for a trust vote. (from Associate Editor Ruhi Tewari)
1:52 pm: Bengaluru additional commissioner (west), Seemanth Kumar Singh, lands up at Goldfinch Hotel as the Congress alleges that two of its MLAs, Anand Singh and Pratap Gowda, are being kept captive. Police seek clarification from the hotel authorities. (from Rohini Swamy)
1:41 pm:
Muck continues to be thrown around over the Karnataka hung verdict. The state Congress just released the above audio, claiming that it contains the voice of the wife of Yellapur Congress MLA Arbail Shivaram Hebbar who is being spoken to allegedly by Yeddyurappa’s son Vijayendra and senior BJP leader B.J. Puttaswamy. Senior Congress leader V.S. Ugrappa, who released the clip, claimed that BJP leaders were assuring Hebbar’s wife that her son Vivek, who is embroiled in a mining case, will be cleared. Vivek is out on bail after the CBI arrested him in 2013 for his alleged involvement in the Belekeri illegal mining case. Ugrappa sought a probe by a sitting Supreme Court judge. (From Rohini Swamy)
12:41 pm: Karnataka floor test to be live telecast on several regional channels but allows KG Bopaiah to stay as pro-tem speaker – Read the Supreme Court order.
12:17 pm: Karnataka trust vote: These 10 MLAs could make or break the fortunes of BJP, writes Rohini Swamy from Bengaluru.
12:11 pm: Congress leaders also laud the Supreme Court for clarifying that the pro-tem speaker will only preside over the trust vote. “He won’t be able to do anything else like suspend MLAs. This is a good order,” a party leader said.
(Reports Special Projects Editor Maneesh Chhibber)
12:07 pm: With Bopaiah’s name having been cleared in the Supreme Court, the trust vote procedure will be as follows:
At first, the newly appointed pro-tem speaker K J Bopaiah will administer the oath of office to the 222 newly-elected MLAs. This is expected to take several hours as each MLA needs to be individually sworn in. Once all the 222 MLAs have been sworn in, the trust vote process begins.
Since the Supreme Court had directed that the trust vote cannot be conducted by secret ballot as requested by Yeddyurappa in his petition, it will be done through head count on the floor of the house.
Once all the MLAs are sworn in, a bell is rung and the pro-tem speaker will ask for a full quorum of the house before the doors are closed. Three minutes will be given to the members to assemble in the house and then the pro-tem will ask the trust vote motion to be moved by the chief minister.
A voice vote will be taken first, after which the speaker will request those who are in favour of the trust motion to stand, row by row — the heads will be counted. Once this has been completed, the speaker will request those not in favour to stand; their head count will be taken. The final tally will be announced at the end of the motion.
(Associate Editor Rohini Swamy from Bengaluru)
11:54 am: Sources in the Congress legal team say they are very satisfied with the court’s order. “Videography of the proceedings will ensure that there will be a record of what transpires in the house, on how the pro-tem speaker conducts the trust vote and if he will play a partisan role to try and help his party, the BJP. In case, there is some illegality or arbitrary behaviour on the pro-tem speaker’s part, we have the right to approach the court again,” said a source.
(Reports Special Projects Editor Maneesh Chhibber)
11:53 am: The Congress’s Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi to hold press conference at 12 pm. Senior Congress leaders have gone into a huddle to analyse the Supreme Court order. While the party claims that it has got what it wanted, the suggestion for a live telecast came from governor’s lawyer, while the Congress request for division of votes was turned down. Voting to now take place as per the house rules.
(From Kumar Anshuman)
11:49 am: Singhvi terms SC order as a victory for the Congress. “We are again thankful to the Supreme Court. We had only one objective that the trust vote should be transparent. I think all our concerns were addressed in one point when the lawyer for the governor said that there will be a live telecast of the trust vote,” Singhvi told reporters outside the Supreme Court.
(Associate Editor Kumar Anshuman reports)
11:45 am: Congress MLAs Anand Singh and Pratap Gowda Patil haven’t yet turned up at the Assembly, bringing the number of MLAs in the house down to 220. The half way mark as of now is 110. This means that the Yeddyurappa government requires just seven more MLAs to breach the halfway mark.
(Associate Editor Rohini Swamy from Bengaluru)
11:31 am: Supreme Court rules that K.G. Bopaiah will continue as pro-tem speaker. The court, however, directs the secretary of the legislative assembly to permit several local channels to broadcast the trust vote live. The suggestion for the live broadcast came from ASG Tushar Mehta, who was representing Governor Vajibhai Vala. With this, the swearing-in of MLAs is set to begin immediately. Importantly, it is the trust vote at 4 pm that will be live telecast, not the swearing-in.
The issue of whether the Governor was right in defying convention to appoint Bopaiah to be heard later.
(From Special Correspondent Apurva Vishwanath at Supreme Court)
11:21 am: Yeddyurappa administered oath of office, followed by Siddaramaiah, others to follow.
H.D. Kumaraswamy met with his MLAs and advised them not to cross vote. Also requested them not to fall for last-minute offers by the BJP.
The Congress MLAs, who also arrived early this morning, have been asked to stay together to provide for a stable government for Karnataka.
(Rohini Swamy from Bengaluru)
11:10 am: Supreme Court considering live telecast of trust vote proceedings.
As Kapil Sibal, appearing for H.D. Kumaraswamy, cites judgement to highlight Bopaiah’s track record as Speaker, court asks if the trust vote must be postponed to resolve this issue.
Justice S.A. Bobde: “If you want us to go into the bonafides and suitability of the pro-tem speaker, then we have to hear him as well. Do you want us to then postpone the trust vote?” (From Special Correspondent Apurva Vishwanath in Supreme Court)
11:07 am: Congress confident of winning trust vote.
K C Venugopal, the party general secretary in charge of Karnataka, told ThePrint that the Congress-JD(S) alliance was confident it would get the numbers needed to form the government. He added that the two Congress MLAs not in their will get disqualified if they vote against the party.
On the Supreme Court hearing regarding the appointment of K.G. Bopaiah as the pro-tem speaker, Venugopal said the Congress would abide by the apex court order. “Our objection is against this person who has a tainted record as the Speaker,” he said.
Meanwhile, all the MLAs have reached the Vidhan Soudha. (Kumar Anshuman reports)
10:35 am: The Supreme Court hearing challenging the Karnataka governor’s decision to appoint K.G. Bopaiah as the pro-tem speaker to be heard shortly.
18 May
9:27 pm: ‘All MLAs will leave from Hyderabad tonight and all MLAs will be present at Vidhan Soudha tomorrow,’ said Kumaraswamy. (Rohini Swamy reports from Bengaluru)
9.00 pm: The Congress is apprehensive that BJP MLAs might resort to disruptions to stall the trust vote Saturday. The pro-tem speaker, KG Bopaiah, would then get an excuse to defer the trust vote by a few days so that the BJP could get more time to engineer defections, a Congress strategist has told ThePrint, explaining the party’s decision to challenge the Governor’s decision on the pro-tem speaker in the Supreme Court. As it is, he said, the party is assured of the loyalty of 76 MLAs but has “almost” given up on two missing ones – Anand Singh and Nagendra who have had a long association with the Reddy brothers of Ballari. (Political Editor D.K. Singh reports)
8:25 pm:
Karnataka Congress Legislature Party met in Hyderabad and unanimously elected Shri @siddaramaiah as the leader of the CLP as per the directions of Congress President Shri @RahulGandhi pic.twitter.com/lsyVdgVSLX
— Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) May 18, 2018
7:46 pm: Union Minister Prakash Javadekar came out in defence of K.G. Bopaiah’s appointment as pro-tem speaker. He said it is nothing but Congress’s political opportunism.
Javadekar cited a 2005 Jharkhand case where a floor test was held for JMM leader Shibu Soren to prove majority in the assembly. In the tug of war between Soren and BJP’s Arjun Munda, Abhishek Manu Singhvi had appeared for Soren and Mukul Rohatgi for Munda.
Both had taken diabolically opposite sides to what they have been arguing for the last two days.
Singhvi in Anil Kumar Jha v Union of India case defended appointment of a young pro-tem speaker defying convention and had argued against holding a floor test immediately. Rohatgi, in a turn-coat had said a floor test must be held immediately and contested the appointment of an Anglo Indian member by then governor Syed Sibte Razi.
When Shri Rameshwar Thakur Ji as Governor had appointed Shri Bhopaiah as Protem Speaker of Karnataka in 2008 Congress didn't object. In Jharkhand when a junior MLA was appointed, Cong leader @DrAMSinghvi defended it in Court. Now they are objecting. This is Congress hypocrisy.
— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) May 18, 2018
Shri KG Bopaiah was appointed as Pro Tem speaker even in 2008 by the then Governor. That time Bopaiah was 10 years younger than what he is today. The Congress is thus raising hoax objection. The appointment of Bopaiah Ji is as per rules and regulations. @BJP4India @BJP4Karnataka
— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) May 18, 2018
7:28 pm: Congress has released an audio tape of an alleged conversation between Janardhan Reddy and Congress’s MLA-elect from Raichur Basavanagouda Daddal.
Daddal: Yes it is me.
JR: Forget all that has happened before, forget all the bad things. I am telling you, that my good time has begun. And I will arrange a meeting with the national president and you can speak to him one-to-one and we can take the next step.
BD: No sir, when I was on my last leg they made me MLA.
JR: I will tell you one thing. BSR [Badavara Shramikara Raithara Congress] time we had very bad time when we formed the party, where there was a lot of opposition. There is no doubting that you have lost a lot by believing in us. But I am telling you, you will grow a 100 times more. Shivanagouda Nayak became a minister because of me. Today he is strong and able to look after himself. It all happened because of me. Raju Gowda also benefitted because of me.
BD: Yes.
JR: It was your misfortune that it was our bad time. Today Shivanagouda winning is not useful. You will become minister. Did you understand? Directly we will make you meet the big man. I will make you speak to him… you will make 100 times the wealth you made so far.
BD: I am sorry sir. I was on my last leg when they gave me a ticket and made me win. In such a situation I cannot betray him. I respect you.
6:10 pm: Rohini Swamy reports:
The Congress has been claiming that it is in touch with Vokkaliga MLAs of the BJP, and if need be, they will support the party during the trust vote Saturday. According to an insider, at least three BJP MLAs are in touch with the Congress-JD(S) alliance and have assured their support.
The JD(S) is also trying to lure the BJP’s Preetham Gowda, a first-time MLA who managed to break into the JD(S) bastion of Hassan. He had defeated JD(S) nominee H.S. Prakash, a four-time winner of the seat.
The BJP, meanwhile, rubbished claims of former chief minister Siddaramaiah that it had “abducted” the Congress’s Vijayanagara MLA Anand Singh. Singh, who had recently crossed over from the BJP, is said to be in talks with the party during this crisis. “We don’t know where Anand Singh is,” BJP spokesperson Shobha Karandlaje said.
5:22 pm: Their Master’s Voice: Vajubhai Vala joins long list of governors who toed the Delhi political line, writes Associate Editor Kumar Anshuman.
5:03 pm: Amid all the hullabaloo in Karnataka, PM maintains studied silence
5:00 pm: In May 2011, the Supreme Court had quashed K.G. Bopaiah’s decision (who was then the speaker of the Karnataka assembly) to disqualify 16 MLAs ahead of the no confidence motion last year which had ensured survival of the Yeddyurappa government.
The court had held that Bopaiah’s decison lacked basic constitutional values and principles of natural justice were not observed. (says Apurva Vishwanath)
4:58 pm: The discretionary powers of any constitutional authority such as the Governor is not absolute. The discretion is to be exercised within the limits of constitutional morality and established norms and not in an arbitrary manner. Ultimately, the Supreme Court will review every such decision. (says Special Correspondent Apurva Vishwanath)
4:41 pm:
Shri KG Bopaiah was appointed as Pro Tem speaker even in 2008 by the then Governor. That time Bopaiah was 10 years younger than what he is today. The Congress is thus raising hoax objection. The appointment of Bopaiah Ji is as per rules and regulations. @BJP4India @BJP4Karnataka
— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) May 18, 2018
4:36 pm: Yeddyurappa’s letter, that was sent 5 pm on 15 May, to the Governor that his party was in the position to form the government.
(Source: Barandbench.com)
4:30 pm: Sources say the Governor’s decision appointing K.G. Bopaiah as pro-tem speaker will be challenged by Congress and JD(S) before the Supreme Court shortly. (Apurva Vishwanath reports)
4:21 pm: The Supreme Court has said that the floor test should be conducted by 4 pm Saturday and all other procedures of electing the pro-tem speaker and the oath-taking of the MLAs should be completed before 4 pm.
With this decision of the apex court, the procedure for the election of pro-tem speaker has to swing into action.
Yeddyurappa’s second cabinet meeting, which was called in emergency, has sent a letter to the Governor. In the letter they have asked for the Assembly to convene at 11 am Saturday.
According to sources in the Vidhan Sabha, the procedure is that the Governor will request the parliamentary affairs secretary to send a list of senior MLAs. In turn, he will collect the data from the legislature secretary and will send it back to Raj Bhavan. Based on this list, the governor will decide who to appoint the pro-tem speaker. The names that have emerged as of now are Congress leaders R.V. Deshpande, Roshan Baig , Ramalinga Reddy and then BJP’s Umesh Katti.
3.54 pm: K.G. Bopaiah has been appointed as pro-tem speaker
3:34 pm: Congress lawyer and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the Congress in the Supreme Court, says the court turned down a request from the AG that the Karnataka vote of confidence vote should take place as a secret ballot.
Singhvi also claimed that the letter Chief Minister Yeddyurappa submitted to the Governor on 15 May, in which he said he had been elected as the BJP legislative party leader, did not have the signatures of the other BJP legislators.The Congress leader also said he found it absurd that people were linking the Karnataka election row with the impeachment issue. “That issue was over after the vice president rejected it. Does it mean that no Congress leader can go to the Supreme Court again?” Singhvi asked.
3:30 pm: Eight Congress MLAs fly out to Hyderabad from Bengaluru. Former chief
minister Siddaramaiah along with R.V. Deshpande, K.J. George, H.M. Revanna,
Rajashekhar Patil, Govindraju and N.A. Haris are the leaders who will be
meeting the elected Congress MLAs who are being closely watched by D K
Shivakumar. (Source: N.A. Haris)
The MLA’s have allegedly been receiving several calls from the BJP seeking
their support and huge amounts are being offered as compensation.
Bahujan Samajwadi party’s lone elected member N. Mahesh from Kollegal also
received a call from a person who identified himself with the BJP, a
source said. He sought support for the party to which Mahesh told the person on the line to “speak to Mayawati behen first.” The person on the
other end of the call, hung up. (From Rohini Swamy in Bengaluru)
2:47 pm: Modi’s sheer determination to win Karnataka may have actually seeded the Congress with some of the fight he has so clearly displayed these last few years, writes Jyoti Malhotra in Congress can learn from PM Modi that politics is hardly a kitty party.
2:19 pm: Waiving off farmers loans is not the only decision of Yeddyurappa that has raised eyebrows. Newly elected Karnataka Chief Minister, B.S. Yeddyurappa, has taken a number of other questionable decisions. He has already appointed a new chief for the state police’s intelligence wing, who took over within an hour of his appointment. The new chief is considered close to some BJP leaders.
Another of his orders was to appoint a new district police chief for Ramanagara district, which has jurisdiction over the area where the Congress MLAs were staying at a resort on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
For a chief minister yet to prove his majority, Yeddyurappa’s decisions are arbitrary if not illegal. Time has possibly come for the Supreme Court, which is dealing with issues arising out of the hung house, to also lay down the law on whether a CM, who is yet to prove his majority, should pass such orders. (writes Maneesh Chhibber)
1:52 pm: Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta says,
“Supreme Court of India has regained some of the prestige and stature lost in recent controversies, especially those around the Chief Justice, by the alacrity and firmness of its intervention in the Karnataka crisis. An overnight hearing and now a clear order for a floor-test within a day show that the court may have been wobbly, but hasn’t collapsed as an institution. You can still count on it when all else fails.”
“A new factor has, however, emerged in this crisis which needs the court’s attention. Should a chief minister have the power to take crucial decisions, including transfers and appointments without first proving majority in the house? In Karnataka, the first act of Yeddyurappa as chief minister was to replace existing intelligence chiefs, obviously with his own loyalists. Is that fair when it would give him the undue advantage of being able to use the intelligence machinery in “defection management”? He also tried to announce a major political decision like a loan waiver for farmers. For now he may have been thwarted by his officers. But officers everywhere may not have the same spine.”
“These are important questions. Ideally, a chief minister sworn in should act like a caretaker as much as the outgoing did during the election process under the Election Commission code of conduct. Until the new chief minister’s majority is proven on the floor of the house, the EC code of conduct will continue.”
“This has been a grey area in the constitutional scheme of things for a long time. Nothing is laid down in law and everything is left to conventions which, as we know, do not count for much in the way politics has evolved.”
“Here is hoping, therefore, that the Supreme Court will clarify this in its detailed order and rule that henceforth, the EC code of conduct will bind the new chief minister too until the floor test. That will restore some fairness to the system as situations like Karnataka are bound to keep emerging.”
1:41 pm: For Congress president Rahul Gandhi, often accused of lacking a killer instinct, Saturday’s trust vote is a perfect opportunity to prove his detractors wrong. But to achieve that, he will have to ensure that the B.S. Yeddyurappa-led BJP government doesn’t manage the numbers before 4 pm Saturday.
Not an easy task when one considers that Rahul is pitted against BJP President Amit Shah, who has been working overtime to ensure that the Congress-JD(S) coalition doesn’t get a shot at government formation, and who has time and again shown that he can go to any extent to win.
Rahul will need to be an Amit Shah if he hopes to outwit the master BJP strategist in the next 36 hours. He does, however, have just the person in his ranks who has shown that it can be done — his mother’s trusted lieutenant Ahmed Patel, who managed to outfox Shah at his home turf of Gujarat during the Rajya Sabha elections last August. (From Manish Chhibber)
1:33 pm: Congress needs a crash course on being a graceful loser – Seshadri Chari writes in ThePrint
1:02 pm: “This is a historic verdict by the Supreme Court. I welcome this verdict and congratulate the judges of the Supreme Court,” says Siddaramaiah.
1:00 pm: Just as the elections in Karnataka, the floor test in the Assembly promises to be a cliffhanger. With the Supreme Court ruling that the floor test should be conducted by 4 pm on Saturday, the BJP, JD(S) and the Congress have gone into a huddle to ensure they can cobble up a majority.
And with convention dictating that senior-most legislator should be appointed as the pro-tem speaker, the Congress’ R.V. Deshpande will in all probability be sworn into the post by the Karnataka governor. The BJP’s Umesh Katti is also a senior legislator; he is an eight-time MLA from Hukkeri.
The pro-tem speaker can only administer oath of office. So it all boils down to the floor test at the Vidhan Soudha as to whether Yeddyurappa will keep his CM chair or not.
(Rohini Swamy reports from Bengaluru)
12:50 pm: Newly elected chief minister B S Yeddyurappa exudes confidence and says that after consultations with the state’s chief secretary, he will call for an assembly session Saturday. “We are 100 per cent confident that we will prove a full majority on the floor of the house,” Yeddyurappa said soon after the Supreme Court order on the floor test.
The whispers in the BJP camp are that the party will ‘claim’ the support of 8 Congress MLAs and an Independent, apart from that of the KPJP legislator R Shankar.
(Associate Editor Rohini Swamy reports from Bengaluru)
12:40 pm:
Today’s Supreme Court order, vindicates our stand that Governor Vala acted unconstitutionally.
The BJP’s bluff that it will form the Govt., even without the numbers, has been called out by the court.
Stopped legally, they will now try money & muscle, to steal the mandate.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 18, 2018
12:36 pm: With the Supreme Court having ordered B.S. Yeddyurappa to prove his majority through a floor test Saturday evening, the first task before the house would be to appoint a pro-tem speaker, who will preside over the proceedings Saturday and until the election of a Speaker.
The orders appointing a MLA as pro-tem speaker will be issued by the Governor. The first job of the pro-tem speaker will be to administer the oath to the newly-elected MLAs. However, unlike a regular speaker, who votes only in case of a tie, the pro-tem speaker can vote like an ordinary member of the house.
By convention, the MLA with the longest experience in the house is appointed pro-tem speaker.
This is the reason former parliamentary affairs minister and Congress leader Kamal Nath was appointed pro-tem speaker in the current Lok Sabha. He continued until the election of Sumitra Mahajan as speaker. (From Special Projects Editor Maneesh Chhibber)
12:05 pm: Associate Editor Kumar Anshuman says: Congress president Rahul Gandhi posted a birthday greeting to former-PM H.D. Deve Gowda at the same time the Supreme Court started hearing the Karnataka case. The 85-year-old JD(S) leader always visits Tirupati on his birthday and has reached there Thursday itself. The importance of Deve Gowda can be understood by the fact that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him to wish on his birthday. Here again, Modi proved quicker than Rahul. At 9:26 am, Modi already let the world know about his talk with the former prime minister. Rahul’s tweet came at 10:47 am.
Spoke to our former Prime Minister Shri HD Deve Gowda Ji and conveyed birthday wishes to him. I pray for his good health and long life.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 18, 2018
I would like to wish Shri HD Deve Gowda ji a very happy birthday and pray for his good health and happiness.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 18, 2018
11:50 am: In Supreme Court’s view, the Sarkaria Commission report does place inviting a single largest party to form the government over a post-poll alliance that claims majority. We find that rational since it takes into account the will of the people. Perhaps, they would not have voted if they knew of the alliance. But Sarkaria Commission report has a limited legal basis, it is only a recommendation. So we think a floor test is the only appropriate solution, Apurva Vishwanath reports for ThePrint.
11:46 am: B.S. Yeddyurappa’s lawyer Mukul Rohatgi argued that Congress and JD(S) have ‘detained and are threatening’ their own MLAs by holding them up in a resort in Kochi, Apurva Vishwanath reports for ThePrint.
11:45 am: Supreme Court directs Yeddyurappa not to take any major political decision before the floor test Saturday, such as the appointment of an Anglo-Indian MLA, reports Rohini Swamy for ThePrint.
11:31 am: Supreme Court orders floor test Saturday at 4 pm. It will hear larger case on whether Governor’s decision was right later, Apurva Vishwanath reports for ThePrint.
11:30 am: Special Correspondent Apurva Vishwanath reports from the Supreme Court: Justice A.K. Sikri shared a joke that he apparently received on WhatsApp.
“The owner of the resort where the MLAs have been kept has claimed stake to form government and wants to be chief minister. I hope even that does not land up before us again,” he said in a lighter vein.
11:25 am: The Supreme Court in its order has restrained chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa from taking any key policy decisions before the floor test. Yeddyurappa’s lawyer Mukul Rohatgi then offered to make a voluntary statement that he will not take such decisions instead of the court order restraining him.
“The court order cannot be used to settle political scores,” he told the Congress lawyers who supported the court’s initial view. (Special Correspondent Apurva Vishwanath reports from the Supreme Court)
10:45 am: Supreme Court begins hearing Karnataka elections case regarding the number of days given to Yeddyurappa to prove that he has majority support in the assembly.
10:00 am: Congress and JD(S) move to Supreme Court regarding nomination of an Anglo-Indian MLA, say it should not be done till the floor test happens.
17 May
7:00 pm: In a fractious hung assembly, meet Karnataka’s ‘revolving’ MLA-elect Shankar who has already switched allegiances thrice, Rohini Swamy reports for ThePrint.
6:30 pm:
6:00 pm: Former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha on dharna to protest ‘murder of democracy’ in Karnataka
4:00 pm: Resort politics is the last resort for Congress to keep its flock together, D.K. Singh explains for ThePrint.
1:30 pm: The legal & constitutional provisions that will determine what happens next in Karnataka, reports Apurva Vishwanath for ThePrint.
12:00 noon: Karnataka elects more crorepatis and candidates with criminal records this year than 2013, reports Sankalita Dey for ThePrint.
10:45 am: Yeddyurappa holds a one man cabinet meeting with senior bureaucrats asking the to make on his pre-poll promise to waive farm loans from all banks up to 1 lakh. He said the official will come in two days, Rohini Swamy reports for ThePrint.
9:12 am: Congress and JD(S) MLAs protest outside the Vidhan Soudha.
9 am: B.S. Yeddyurappa takes oath as the Chief Minister of Karnataka.
3:56 am: Apex court, however, does not dismiss the petition but says that the “petition is a subject of hearing later on.” SC also issues a notice to respondents including Yeddyurappa, asking him to file a reply and produce the letter of 15th May that he submitted to the governor.
3:52 am: The three-judge bench refuses to stay the swearing-in ceremony.
1:35 am: Abhishek Manu Singhvi appears for the Congress and the JD(S), whereas Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Tushar Mehta appears for the Centre; former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi represents the BJP.
Irrespective of merits, very gracious of SC to fix hearing at 145 pm at ct no 2. Shows justice never sleeps & accessibility is 24×7, where merits so demand. Which apex court in world allows such accessibility?
— Abhishek Singhvi (@DrAMSinghvi) May 16, 2018
1:04 am: A three-judge bench of Justice A.K. Sikri, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice S.A. Bobde are assigned to hear the Congress and JD(S) plea challenging the Karnataka Governor’s decision.
12:43 am: The Supreme Court agrees to hear the petition at 1:45 am.
12 am: The Congress and the JD(S) reach the Supreme Court registrar’s office to file an urgent plea in the apex court, seeking a stay on the oath-taking ceremony of B.S. Yeddyurappa.
16 May
9:30 pm: Congress holds another press conference where it says it will legally challenge Vajubhai Vala’s decision.
9:20 pm: BJP holds a press conference and takes a dig at the Congress. Says that the party that had imposed President’s rule the most number of times, was now giving it lessons on the Constitution.
9:17 pm: BJP announces that B.S. Yeddyurappa will be sworn in as the chief minister at 9 am Thursday.
9:05 pm: Governor Vajubhai Vala invites B.S. Yeddyurappa to form the government and prove his majority on the floor of the house. He surprises nearly everybody by granting the BJP 15 days to do so.
8:30 pm: Karnataka BJP tweets that B.S. Yeddyurappa will be sworn in at 9:30 am on Thursday even before the governor announces his decision.
8 pm: Congress holds an emergency press conference in New Delhi, where party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala says that if not called to form the government, the party would use all legal and constitutional rights available to it.
8 pm: Congress MLAs are bundled off to Eagleton Resort near Bengaluru to ensure they are not poached.
1:55 pm: Signatures of Congress and JD(S) MLAs proving their majority is submitted before the governor. He assures both parties that he will base his decision as per the Constitution.
12:04 pm: First instance of some support for the BJP. R Shankar, the lone Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party (KPJP) MLA, is seen with the BJP delegation at the Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru.
11:57 am: H.D. Kumaraswamy admits in a press conference that he was approached by both the Congress and the BJP. Explains his decision to go with Congress as a way of correcting his mistakes of 2004 and 2005, when he had aligned with the BJP.
15 May
9:16 pm: The BJP’s MLA elects choose B.S. Yeddyurappa as their leader. Yeddyurappa hands over a letter to the governor, seeking to form the government. Meanwhile H.D. Kumaraswamy is chosen as the JD(S) legislative party leader at a party meeting in Bengaluru.
8:44 pm: JD(S) and the Congress allege that BJP was trying to poach their MLAs.
6:30 pm: The BJP parliamentary body meets at the party headquarters in Delhi where the PM congratulates party workers for the victory. Senior Congress leaders, meanwhile, meet with the JD(S) high command at Ashoka Hotel in Bengaluru.
5:10 pm: Congress leaders along with H.D. Kumaraswamy also join the race, state that as a coalition with the requisite numbers they have the stronger claim to form the government. The governor, however, doesn’t meet them.
4:48 pm: Without requisite numbers, BJP CM candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa meets Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala and stakes claim to form the government on account of his party being the single largest.
2:22 pm: The Congress offers unconditional support to the JD(S), backing Kumaraswamy to head the government.
Around 2 pm: The Karnataka elections throw up a hung verdict with the BJP winning in 104 seats, the Congress bagging 78 and JD(S) managing to get 37 seats. Despite early trends suggesting a BJP victory, no party secures a simple majority (112 seats).
Good that BSY resigned