In a jolt to the Kumaraswamy government, the Supreme Court said the 15 rebel Congress-JDS MLAs could not be forced to take part in the trust vote scheduled for tomorrow. The court also gave liberty to Speaker KR Ramesh to decide on the resignations of the MLAs, saying there was no deadline for him to take a call on the issue.
Of the 16 rebel legislators, including 13 of the Congress and three of the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) who resigned from their Assembly segments, 13 have been holed up in a five-star hotel in Mumbai since the political crisis unfolded on July 6.
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear an impleadment plea by five more rebel Karnataka legislators against Assembly Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar's decision to not accept their resignations.
With nine Congress and three JD-S rebels staying at a five-star hotel in Mumbai along with the two Independents, the ruling allies will not have the numbers required to win the trust vote if moved and put to vote in the 225-member Assembly, including one nominated but has no voting right.
A group of 14 rebel Karnataka legislators lodged in a Mumbai deluxe hotel on Monday once again complained of "threats" from top Congress leaders. This is the second such development in five days.
Even though the Speaker has said that he will take a call on the floor test only after the Supreme Court’s order, Congress leader Siddaramaiah has said that the trust vote will happen at 11.00 am on July 18. Stay tuned for the Live updates.
Warning the rebels of action against them if they don't withdraw their resignations and attend the session, Shivakumar said they would be disqualified if they defy the party whip issued to all its members, including them, for their presence in the Assembly.
Karnataka crisis: Asserting that the coalition government in Karnataka had lost the majority, the state BJP Sunday demanded the Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy immediately resign or seek a tH. D. Kumaraswamy, Chief minister of Karnatakarust vote on Monday itself.
The coalition government is on a sticky wicket with 16 MLAs--13 of the Congress and three of the JD(S) -- resigning from the Assembly. Besides, two independent legislators, who were made ministers recently to provide stability, have quit the cabinet.
Efforts by coalition leaders to mollify rebel Congress MLA M T B Nagaraj seem to have failed as he has flown to Mumbai on Sunday, according to sources.
In a surprise move amid the existential crisis faced by his government, Kumaraswamy had on Friday announced in the state Assembly that he had voluntarily decided to seek a trust vote to end the "confusion" caused by resignations of rebel MLAs and requested the Speaker to fix time for the same.
Ten rebel legislators, including seven from the Congress and three from the JD-S, had petitioned the top court on July 10 for its intervention in expediting the acceptance of their resignations by the Speaker.
Her remarks come in the backdrop of hectic political activity in Karnataka and Goa. Sixteen MLAs of the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition have resigned in Karnataka and 10 Congress MLAs have joined the ruling BJP in Goa.
The JDS-Congress government in Karnataka is in crisis following a spate of resignations of MLAs from the ruling side. Also, 10 of the 15 MLAs of the Congress party in Goa legislative assembly have split and joined the BJP, which is currently ruling the state.
Deve Gowda said making HD Kumaraswamy quit has been Yeddyurappa's suprabhata (good morning wish) since the day the coalition government came into being, adding that the present situation is worse than the Emergency.
Bengaluru Police Commissioner Alok Kumar has issued prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, restricting the gathering of more than five persons and any form of protests within the two-km area around the Vidhana Soudha.
Shivakumar and others reached Mumbai early on Wednesday and attempted to meet the 10 Karnataka legislators put up at the Hotel Renaissance in Powai.
The Supreme Court decided Wednesday to accord urgent hearing on Thursday to a petition filed by 10 rebel MLAs of Congress and JD(S) alleging that the Karnataka Assembly Speaker was not accepting their resignations deliberately.
This has taken the total number of rebels to 16. As many as 14 MLAs from both parties have already tendered resignation, reducing the ruling coalition to a minority.
The 13-month old Congress-JD(S) government plummetted into a crisis following the resignation of 11 MLAs last week.
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