The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday dared Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy to move a confidence motion in the state Assembly. Kumaraswamy is slated to move a confidence motion on Monday, to prove that his shaky coalition government has a majority. Commenting on the development, opposition BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa said, "Since Kumaraswamy himself offered to seek a trust vote and no business could be conducted in the House without proving he has a majority, he should request the Speaker to allow him to move it on Monday when the session resumes."
Here are the Live Updates:
07:45 pm: Karnataka Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah meets rebel MlA Ramalinga Reddy.
06:30 pm: Rebel Karnataka Congress MLA ST Somashekar: We won't take our resignations back at any cost. K Sudhakar is in Delhi & he is also in our support, he may join us here in Mumbai anytime soon. BJP leader R Ashok has nothing to do with us, we are unaware as to why he is here.
04:10 pm: Speaker doesn't have the right to disqualify anybody because of the Supreme Court's decision, says BJP Karnataka President, BS Yeddyurappa
03:45 pm: Rebel Cong MLA Nagaraj heads to Mumbai.
03:00 pm: Congress legislative party leader Siddaramaiah, today, held a meeting with MLAs at Taj Vivanta in Bengaluru.
01:14 pm: I will request CM HD Kumaraswamy to resign immediately because more than 15 MLAs from JDS and Congress and also two independent Ministers have resigned and they have reflected that they will support BJP, says BS Yeddyurappa
12:27 pm: Maharashtra: Rebel Congress MLA MTB Nagaraj arrives at Mumbai airport with BJP leader R Ashok
11:12 am: I have confidence in all our MLAs. They have been elected from Congress party and they have been there for a long period. They have fought like tigers in their domain, says DK Shivakumar, Congress
11:01 am: At the time of Confidence Motion, they're also well-equipped with law. Law is very clear. If they vote against Confidence Motion, they'll lose their membership. Congress party is ready to settle their demands. We're getting signals that they'll save our govt, says DK Shivakumar, Congress
Earlier on Friday, Kumaraswamy had told Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar that he was ready to seek a trust vote or face a no-confidence motion if the BJP moves it against him during the 10-day monsoon session till July 26.
His statement came in view of the political crisis gripping the southern state since 16 rebel legislators of the ruling Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) (JD-S) allies resigned from their Assembly seats.
"As the Supreme Court on Friday directed the Speaker to maintain status quo on the resignations of 10 rebel lawmakers till Tuesday (July 16) when it resumes hearing in the case, let Kumaraswamy hold the floor test on Monday and prove he has the majority in the House, as the 16 rebels have decided not to attend the session as evident from their absence on Friday," said Yeddyurappa.
Meanwhile, in a late night development, MLA MTB Nagaraj announced that he was withdrawing his resignation and would remain with the Congress party.
His decision to stay a Congressman came amid intense efforts by the party to placate and woo its rebel legislators in the state.
Karnataka Chief Minister Kumaraswamy and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah, too, had persuaded MTB Nagaraj to withdraw his resignation.
Even as the beleaguered ruling allies wooed the rebels through the day to withdraw their resignations and attend the session, five of them, including Nagaraj, had filed petitions in the apex court, seeking its direction to the Speaker to accept their resignations too forthwith along with that of 10 other rebels whose joint writs are being heard by it since Thursday.
The other four Congress rebels who submitted their resignations to the Speaker in the prescribed format are Anand Singh, Munirathna Naidu, R. Roshan Baig and K. Sudhakar.
In the 225-member Assembly, including one nominated without voting rights, the combined strength of the ruling allies is 116, with the support of one BSP legislator, which is three more than the halfway mark of 113 to win the trust vote against 107 of the BJP, including the support of two independents.
"If the 16 legislators, including 13 of the Congress and three of the JD-S are not present in the House when the confidence motion is put to vote, the government will be defeated with its strength reduced to 100 (65+34+1), including the BSP but excluding the Speaker as against 107 of ours," BJP spokesman G. Madhusudana said.
"As the opposition leader, I will advise the Speaker at the Business Advisory Committee meeting on Monday to allow the Chief Minister to move the trust vote and conduct the floor test on the same day to ascertain if he has the majority in the House," asserted Yeddyurappa.
Also Read | Karnataka crisis: BJP wants trust vote on Monday
Also Read | Karnataka crisis: 5 more Congress rebels to petition Supreme Court on resignations
Video: Karnataka crisis: Supreme Court to hear rebel MLAs’ petition on July 16
