Bengaluru: The ruling JD(S)-Congress coalition has lived to fight another day, but faces an uncertain future on Friday. With around 20 MLAs abstaining from an Assembly session called to test the majority of the HD Kumaraswamy government, the Congress and JD(S) realised quickly that their coalition lacked the numbers to sail through and raised a point of order to delay the trust vote.
Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah requested Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar to postpone the confidence motion debate till the Supreme Court clarifies on his powers to issue a whip to all Congress MLAs.
The former CM told the Speaker that even though the SC order mentioned his name, it had not made him a respondent in the case. According to his aides, the trust vote may be prolonged by a few more days, giving enough time to the coalition to try to win over some rebel MLAs allegedly holed up in Mumbai.
After Siddaramaiah, senior minister Krishna Byregowda asked the Speaker to decide on disqualification of MLAs before he takes up the trust vote debate.
When the Assembly was reconvened at 3pm, water resources minister DK Shivakumar dropped a bombshell by claiming that one of the Congress MLAs, Sreemantha Gouda Patil, has been abducted by a BJP MLA and kept at a Mumbai hospital.
He even placed documents to prove his claim before the Assembly. An agitated Speaker also raised doubts over the authenticity of a letter purportedly sent by the MLA to him and referred the matter to police.
Realising that giving more time to the coalition may spell doom for the party, BJP rushed to the Raj Bhavan to meet Governor Vaju Bhai Vala, demanding his intervention. An officer on special duty at the Raj Bhavan met the Speaker with a message from the Governor after that.
According to the Congress camp, they want to expose the alleged purchase of the MLAs by the BJP on the floor of the House even if they can’t save the government.
“The BJP is shamelessly and openly purchasing our MLAs. They are doing unconstitutional things. Let the entire country see what they are capable of doing just to achieve power,” said senior MLA and KPCC president Dinesh Gundurao.
The BJP, which was upbeat in the morning hoping that the Kumaraswamy government would collapse by evening, seems to be rattled after a series of unexpected developments rocked the Assembly.
Even though the BJP is denying a hands in the defection of MLAs, insiders claim that BJP leaders are worried about these legislators getting restless over the delay.
The JD(S) camp claims that Kumaraswamy will try to save the government till the last moment. “He won’t give up so easily. If he realises that in no way can he save the chair, he will quit after making an emotional speech attacking the BJP,” said a JD(S) MLA.
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