SC Orders Floor Test on 18 May at 4 PM
The Supreme Court , on Friday, 18 May, 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 B S Yeddyurappa to prove majority.
"Let the House decide and the best course would be floor test," a three-judge bench headed by Justice A K Sikri said.
The bench, also comprising Justices S A Bobde and Ashok Bhushan, turned down Yeddyurappa's request for a secret ballot during the floor test.
Read the SC Order on the Floor Test Here:
It directed the Karnataka government and the Governor not to nominate any MLA from the Anglo-Indian community to participate in the floor test tomorrow.
The bench asked the newly-elected government not to take any major policy decision till it proves majority in the House.
The apex court made it clear that it would deal with the constitutionality of the Governor's letter inviting Yeddyurappa to form the government later.
The top court said 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 said ultimately the question is about majority which has to be proved in the floor test.
The apex court was hearing a petition moved by the Congress-JDS combine challenging the governor's decision to invite the BJP to form government.
Congress Most Corrupt Party, Says Ram Madhav
BJP leader Ram Madhav called Congress the “most corrupt party”, which is evident in their “unethical deal” with JD(S) in Karnataka, reported ANI. Alleging that Congress’ whole history is full of corruption, he said that there has not been one genuine charge against the BJP in the past four years.
He also said that they had made no mistake in seeking to form the government in Karnataka, since it is a democratic practice that the single largest party is given the opportunity to do so. “It is a different matter that we weren't able to muster required numbers”, he added.
He went on to say that since the “mandate was against the Congress”, they had hoped that JD(S) would keep it in mind and act appropriately. “But that wasn't the case. There was a tacit deal between Cong & JD(S) that led to a situation were we had to relinquish”, he said.
8 VVPATs Seized from Labourer's House in Karnataka
On Sunday, May 20, the empty cases of eight Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) were seized from a labourer’s house in Vijayapura, Karnataka. No machines were found, according to reports. The labourers were using the covers as boxes to store their clothes.
The police has said that a case has been registered and an investigation will be conducted.
Karnataka Might Have Two Deputy CMs, Trust Vote May Happen on 24 May: Report
As CM-designate Kumaraswamy visits Delhi on Monday to discuss government formation with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, an NDTV report, citing Karnataka Congress president G Parameshwara, suggests that the state might have two deputy chief ministers.
Moreover, like Yeddyurappa, Kumaraswamy might be the only one to take oath on Wednesday, Congress leader DK Shivakumar told NDTV.
The trust vote may happen on Thursday, the report further said.
Kumaraswamy 'Mobbed' by His Own Party’s Workers, For a Selfie!
Karnataka’s CM designate HD Kumaraswamy was ‘mobbed’ by his own party’s workers at the Le Meridien hotel in Bengaluru, as they tried to take selfies with him.
