Yeddyurappa wins Karnataka trust vote, spotlight on court
Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa won the second trust vote on Thursday winning 106 votes in his favour in the 224-member state Assembly, even as a high court ruling on Monday on the status of disqualified MLAs holds the key to the survival of the government.
He got all the votes of 105 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members and one Independent that supports it against 100 in favour of the Opposition.
“We created history of sorts,” said Yeddyurappa said after winning the trust vote second time in three days.
The BJP had issued a whip on its party members to vote in favour of the chief minister.
The half-way mark to prove the majority was 104, after the controversial disqualifications of some MLAs.
Sweets were distributed soon after the victory and the chief minister addressed the media.
However, if the victory is short-lived would depend on the verdict of the Karnataka High Court on Monday when it interprets the anti-defection law and decides on the disqualification of 16 rebels MLAs, including 11 of the BJP, by the Speaker.
But the BJP said even if the High Court ruled in favour of five Independent MLAs, the party would win.
“If those numbers of Independents are included also, BJP would cross the half way mark. Even if we have to add that number of five it will have no effect,” said BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Ruddy.
“The win vindicates the position of the BJP. It was just to prove the point and hue and cry by Congress we proved it. The contention of the Congress and the Governor was demolished,” he said.
He said all attempts by the Congress, the UPA government at the centre to destabilize the state government has failed.
The Congress remained scathing on its stance.
“The intent of the BJP right from beginning was to convert a minority government into a manufactured majority,” Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari said in New Delhi.
Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka assembly Siddaramaiah of the Congress said: “It was expected. Whatever is the result is subject to high court ruling.”
“This is semifinal. Final is on Monday,” he said.
State Governor H R Bhardwaj after declaring Monday’s confidence vote as “farce” has asked the BJP led 28-month-old coalition ministry to seek fresh mandate from the lawmakers to clear doubts of the earlier voice vote.
Amid high drama and chaos, B S Yeddyurappa on Monday won a vote of confidence in the Assembly but the voting triggered controversy and pitted the Governor against the party in an open war.
In the House, the BJP has 106 members, including the Speaker; the Congress has 73, Janata Dal (Secular) has 28, and 16 are vacant. The vacancy was created after the Speaker disqualified 16 MLAs hours ahead of first trust vote on Monday.
The BJP on Wednesday found support from the lone independent Varthur Prakash.
It was advantage BJP on Thursday after on Wednesday, the Karnataka High Court ruled that five disqualified Independent legislators who had revolted against the ruling party cannot take part in the crucial second trust vote on Thursday.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar rejected the petitions of the five disqualified Independent MLAs to vote in the Assembly on Thursday.
The court also rejected their request that their vote be kept in a sealed envelope to be counted after the final ruling by the court on their plea seeking quashing of the disqualification by the Speaker.