A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court has ordered that a floor test be conducted in Karnataka Assembly at 4pm on Saturday

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NPP's seats increased to 20, the same as that of the Congress, after the party won the April 27 election in Williamnagar, where polls were countermanded following the killing of its candidate.

Regional parties United Democratic Party (six), Peoples Democratic Front (two), the Hills State Peoples Democratic Party (two), NCP (one), independents (two) besides the BJP, which won just two seats came together to form the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance under Conrad Sangma.

But it was the conglomerate of the National Peoples Party which had secured 19 seats formed the government with the support of other regional parties and the BJP.

Opposition Congress, which had won the largest number of seats in the February Assembly poll in Meghalaya, will hold demonstrations across the state tomorrow to protest the Karnataka Governor's decision of inviting the BJP to form government. The Congress had secured 20 out of the 58 seats of Meghalaya Assembly in the polls.

The governor had then invited the BJP, which had only won 21 seats out of the 60 seats in the Manipur Assembly, he said. Singh said he would meet the governor tomorrow following the swearing-in of BJP leader B S Yeddyuraapa as chief minister of Karnataka.

Opposition leader of Manipur Legislative Assembly O Ibobi Singh today told reporters that since his party was the single largest party as it had won 28 seats out of 60, during the 2017 Assembly elections in the state, he would state claim to form the government.

Amid the political development in Karnataka, Opposition Congress in Manipur today said the party leaders would meet the governor tomorrow to stake claim to form the government in the north-eastern state.

"As far as swearing-in is concerned, we are not restraining it, but we are making it subject to the outcome of the case," a three-judge bench, comprising justices A K Sikri, S A Bobde and Ashok Bhushan, said in a rare past-midnight hearing that was continuing till the wee hours of Thursday.

The Supreme Court tonight said it was not in favour of deferring BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa's swearing-in as Karnataka Chief Minister, even as the Congress and JD (S) continued their past-midnight legal push to stall the government formation in the state.

A marathon midnight hearing and a tumultuous day later, all eyes are on the Supreme Court today, which is set to hear a petition filed by the Congress against Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala who invited the BJP to form the government on 16 May.

JDS CM candidate HD Kumaraswamy, however, told reporters that all MLAs from both the parties were united and staying in the same place.

News18 report stated that Congress MLAs have been shifted out of Karnataka. However, as the chaos after election results spiral out of control in Karnataka, confusion prevails. Firstpost wasn't able to independently verify the information, but News18 quoted sources saying that several Congress MLAs had moved out of Eagleton resort and Shangri-La hotel in Bengaluru and left for Puducherry, while a few JDS MLAs were shipped off to Cochin and Hyderabad.

Opposition leader of Manipur Legislative Assembly Ibobi Singh told reporters that since his party was the single largest party as it had won 28 seats out of 60, during the 2017 Assembly elections in the state, he would state claim to form the government.

Former Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh and former Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma have sought time from respective governors of the state for a meeting today, reports said. Not just Meghalaya, Manipur, even Bihar and Goa on Thursday threatened to march till Raj Bhavan and stake claim to form government.

The government appointed M Lakshminarayana, additional chief secretary, public works department, as the additional chief secretary to the chief minister. It also notified that his position will be equivalent to the additional chief secretary in home department.

Hours after BS Yeddyurappa assumed office as chief minister, several IAS and IPS officers were transferred in a top level reshuffle on Thursday. The reshuffle includes the transfers of the advocate general of the state, senior police officers and the additional chief secretary to the chief minister, according to News18

The pro-tem Speaker would get to take a call on whether the trust vote should be held through a voice vote or ballot.

According to News18 , the Karnataka Assembly Secretariat has forwarded Congress MLA RV Deshpande's name to Governor Vajubhai Vala to be appointed as the pro tem (temporary) Speaker. As per convention, the senior-most member in the House gets recommended as the pro tem Speaker when it is newly-constituted.

Quoting sources, CNN-News18 reported that the newly-elected JD(S) MLAs are being shifted to Hyderabad along with some Congress legislators. They are currently in Kurnool, from where they would take 2 to 3 hours to reach Hyderabad.

Amid reports that JDS and Congress MLAs have been shifted out of Bengaluru to keep them away from being poached by the BJP, JDS MLA CS Puttaraju said that all the MLAs are on their way to Hyderabad. "We will then decide where to stay."

All the MLAs are with us. We are going to Hyderabad and then we’ll decide where to stay: JDS MLA CS Puttaraju

As reports confirmed that Congress and JD(S) MLAs are being moved to Hyderabad, there is still confusion over previous reports which said that the MLAs will be going to Cochin and Puducherry. Kerala minister and JDS MLA MT Thomas said, "I'm definite they (Karnataka JD(S) MLAs) aren't coming by flight so I'm moving to Kurnool. Not sure about their destination. If they come here, they're welcome. I was expecting them yesterday but Civil Aviation department didn't give permission to charter flight."

"Sir, why are we playing with fire? Votaries of Democracy are now making mockery of System. Those who do not forget to sermonize on the value of Democracy are out to wreck the polity." Sinha further added, " In the present situation, one really wishes that ultimately justice prevails. What is right for Peter should be right for Paul too. What is right for Meghalaya, Manipur & Goa should be right for Karnataka too !! God save Karnataka & Democracy! Jai Hind !!"

In a series of tweets, BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha hit out at the political slugfest unfolding in Karnataka and said that this is the politics of jugaad and arm twisting.

Karnataka MLAs arrive in Hyderabad's Park Hyatt hotel. Security is tightened in and around the area. News18 reported that top two floors of the hotel are residential, which is where the MLAs, most probably, will be put up.

Saamana editorial also added a sarcastic comment saying 'if Congress would have done the same, it would have been called the murder of democracy, but it is absolutely valid" when BJP does it.

After Shatrughan Sinha, now Shiv Sena criticised the politics unfolding in Karnataka. Saamana, Shiv Sena mouthpiece slammed BJP over politics in Karnataka. The editorial called the Karnataka Governor a 'polite servant' of the BJP. "What BJP is doing in Karnataka is Chanakyaneeti. Those who don't understand it, are not just fools, but also traitors."

Speaking to India Today, Jaiveer Shergill said,​ "If Congress MLAs are scared then it is because of the threatening atmosphere created by the BJP. The minute the police was withdrawn from Eagleton Resort (where Congress MLAs were staying earlier) the BJP workers barged in."

The top court, however, said the swearing-in of Yeddyurappa was subject to the final outcome of the matter before it and posted the case for further hearing at 10.30 a.m on Friday.

Congress party is seeking an appointment with President Ramnath Kovind to protest against the swearing-in of BS Yeddyurappa and Governor's Vajubhai Vala's decision to administer the oath of office "unconstitutional". Earlier, a three-judge bench of the apex court rejected at a special pre-dawn hearing, a joint writ petition filed by the Congress and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) on Wednesday night, to stall Yeddyurappa's swearing-in.

Amid reports that Congress MLAs have reached Hyderabad with JDS MLAs in tow, BJP hit back at the two parties saying that they "misleading" people for the last couple of days. "Don't know where the MLAs are. They are misleading people for last three to four days. You will know how we will prove the majority and how many MLAs support the government. We will respect Supreme Court's judgement and it'll have a bearing on further development of political scenario in Karnataka," says BJP's B Bommai.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who is representing two BJP MLAs in the Karnataka hearing in Supreme Court said that he is going to show the court the letter which was given by BS Yeddyurappa to the Governor. “I am going to show the letter which was given by BS Yeddyurappa to the Governor which shows BJP has majority MLAs. Let the Congress-JD(S) prove their majority in the floor of the House after this verdict,” he said.

Two buses filled with MLAs of Congress and JDS arrived at the Taj Krishna Hotel in Hyderabad. There is no official confirmation in the number of MLAs who travelled to Hyderabad, but reports confirmed that they have arrived in Hyderabad.

A specially constituted three-judge bench comprising Justices A K Sikri, S A Bobde and Ashok Bhushan begin hearing Congress-JD(S) petition. The bench of the apex court rejected a joint writ petition, filed by the Congress and the JDS on Wednesday night, to halt the swearing-in of Yeddyurappa as the Chief Minister at a special pre-dawn hearing. The bench, headed by Justice AKSikri, also sought the letter Yeddyurappa wrote to the Governor on Wednesday, informing him about his election as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislature party leader in Karnataka.

"We have the support from Congress and JD(S) MLAs, I cant disclose more at this point," says Rohatgi. "Also the letter submitted by Indian National Congress and the JDS does not have the signature of many MLAs," Rohatgi added.

Mukul Rohatgi hands over the letters saying BS Yeddyurappa was elected as leader of the single largest party and has sufficient numbers to prove majority. There is no need for BSY to give names of all MLAs who are supporting him to governor and he is ready to prove majority any time. Supreme Court asks, "On what basis the Karnataka Governor decided which party/coalition can prove the majority since both sides have given the letter to Governor?"

Proceedings in Supreme Court turned extremely interesting as Justice Sikri suggested that since the trust vote is the deciding factor, why not have it tomorrow? This, however, is merely a suggestion by the apex court.

The BJP notched up 104 MLAs and is short of eight MLAs for a simple majority. On the other hand, JD(S) demonstrated, to the governor and the public, that it has the support of 116 MLAs, four more than the simple majority required to win the vote of confidence. Karnataka assembly has 224 seats, so normally the majority figure should have been 113. But polling was held only for 222 constituencies, because polling in two constituencies was put off to 20 May by the Election Commission. So the current majority figure is scaled down to 112.

So, the question the Congress and JD(S) have raised and the Supreme Court will consider is this: If JD(S)-Congress combine have already demonstrated that they have the ability to form a stable government (with 116 MLAs), why did the governor chose the BJP, which has, officially, only 104 MLAs in this corner? Where from and how did Yedyurappa assure the governor that he would muster eight or more MLAs to form a stable government. And more important, how was the governor convinced that Yedyurappa had the numbers?

The Supreme Court seems poised to order in favour of a BS Yeddyurappa conducting a floor test tomorrow to prove his majority in the House. Heated arguments are underway in the apex court and Supreme Court has only made observations and not ordered anything till now.

Supreme Court rejected videographing of the floor test. Rohatgi suggested floor test on Monday, but the apex court has rejected the suggestion adding that the floor test should happen at the earliest.

The Supreme Court is most likely inching towards ruling in favour of a floor test tomorrow. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Congress, said that the party is ready for it but "the entire proceedings should be video graphed and ensure proper security to MLAs to vote fearlessly."

While, Mukul Rohatgi sought more time for floor test saying there should be a reasonable time not one day, Supreme Court rejected the suggestion saying it should happen at the earliest. "It is not appropriate for floor test tomorrow," Rohatgi said.

If the reports are to be believed, this comes as a shot in the arm for the Congress and JDS. However, a detailed reading of the Supreme Court order is necessary to understand the ruling.

According to reports, the pro-tem Speaker will decide the manner in which the floor test should be conducted. RV Deshpande, the Pro tem speaker, is an eight-time Congress MLA from Haliyal, would not have powers like a regular speaker, but he would administer oath to all the newly elected MLAs.

BREAKING NEWS: Mukul Rohatgi has given an undertaking that BS Yeddyurappa will not take any major policy decision until the floor test

This Court is not passing any order staying the oath-taking ceremony of respondent no.3. In case, he is given oath in the meantime, that shall be subject to further orders of this Court and the final outcome of the writ petition”, stated the order of the court.

“After hearing the parties, we are of the opinion that it is necessary to peruse the letters dated 15th May 2018 and 16th May, 2018 submitted by the respondent no.3(Yeddyurappa) to the Governor which found a mention in the communication dated 16th May 2018 of the Hon’ble Governor. We request the learned Attorney General and/or respondent no.3 to produce these letters on the next date of hearing.

"Today Supreme Court has taken many historic and interim decisions. First is, floor test will be conducted tomorrow at 4 pm. Then, BSY's lawyer has given an undertaking that BS Yeddyurappa will not take any major policy decision until the floor test. Most importantly, Supreme Court will hear our petition which questions whether the governor should first invite the single largest party or should invite parties which have the number in ten weeks. There were several opposition to our stand but the Supreme Court has delivered a strong ruling and it should send a message to everyone who were opposed to this."

1. Floor Test Must Be Conducted At 4pm Tomorrow 2. Protem Speaker to decide the mode of test 3. No Secret Ballot 4. Govt shall not nominate the Anglo Indian Representative 5. Government shall not take any major policy decisions

BS Yeddyurappa said that the BJP will prove its majority in the floor of the House. "We will discuss with the chief secretary and call for Assembly session tomorrow. We will win with majority and obey the orders of the Supreme Court," Yeddyurappa told reporters.

Police detain Congress leaders who were taking out a rally to Raj Bhavan to protest the governor's decision to invite BJP to form the government. Senior leaders such as Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge were leading the rally.

"Today’s Supreme Court order, vindicates our stand that Governor Vala acted unconstitutionally. The BJP’s bluff that it will form the Govt., even without the numbers, has been called out by the court. Stopped legally, they will now try money & muscle, to steal the mandate."

- Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Chief Minister, had sought reasonable time till Monday for the floor test but the bench, also comprising Justices S A Bobde and Ashok Bhushan, ordered it for tomorrow.

- Yeddyurappa can’t take decisions till the floor test, says Lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi. The Supreme Court ordered that a floor test be held in the Karnataka Assembly at 4 pm tomorrow to ascertain whether newly appointed BJP Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa enjoys a majority in the state.

Congress-JDS take affidavits of all 116 MLAs which will be submitted first in the court and later sent to President Ram Nath Kovind

After Supreme Court's floor test order, Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa said, "Will discuss with Chief secretary and call for assembly session tomorrow. We are 100 percent confident that we will prove full majority."

" We were ready to prove majority from the word go. We have more than the required number to sail through the floor test. We are looking forward to proving our mandate tomorrow. To all those doubting the strength of our mandate, we just have one thing to say: Wait and watch."

In a series of tweets, BJP's Karnataka wing said, "We will prove majority on the floor of the house tomorrow. BJP is confident of winning the floor test. We have the blessings of 6 crore Kannadigas who voted for change. Their aspirations and blessings will be respected and acknowledged. We were ready to prove majority from the word go. We have more than the required number to sail through the floor test. We are looking forward to proving our mandate tomorrow. To all those doubting the strength of our mandate, we just have one thing to say: Wait and watch. Following SC's order for floor test tomorrow at 4 PM, we want to make one thing very clear. We are absolutely sure of our numbers and will decisively prove our majority on the floor of the house. If people's mandate has to be vindicated again, so be it. Bring it on! The drama that has been staged by JDS-Cong is there for everyone to see! They know fully well the discontent that exists amongst its own MLAs. It will be known to the world tomorrow! JDS-Cong may pull all their plugs. But rest assured, we will emerge victorious tomorrow."

"This is a historic decision. I welcome Supreme Court's decision. Thank the supreme court for the same. Judges have once again risen to the occasion and taken the correct decision. a decision that protects democracy and the constitution. Constitution clearly states the importance of governor's role. Governor mustnt favour any party and any decision he takes shouldn't be biased. Bunch of us had gone to the Governor and told him that BJP doesn't have the numbers. Karnataka did not vote for BJP. They don't have anything more than 104 seats. On the other hand, the Congress, JDS and the Independents have 117 seats, Therefore, you should invite us to form the government, we told the governor. We tabled our claim even before the BJP approached the governor."

"House proceedings should be followed with decency. A Pro tem speaker should be impartial. I expect everyone will abide by the Supreme Court order," Deshpande further added.

The Governor appoints the senior-most legislator of the House as a Pro tem Speaker. Speaking to News18, RV Deshpande, who is the senior-most member of the Karnataka Assembly said, "Have not received any confirmation from Raj Bhavan whether I will be the pro tem Speaker tomorrow. Generally, the senior-most legislator is appointed as the Pro tem Speaker but since I have not been asked yet, so I cannot say anything."

"Rs 100 crore or Rs 200 crore, our MLAs are with us. None of our members are going away. Today, evening or tomorrow early morning, we all are leaving for Bengaluru," JD(S) leader GT Devegowda.

Tejashwi Yadav and other alliance leaders met Bihar Governor Satyapal Malik, hand over letters stating that RJD is the single largest party and hence should be invited to form government

With the floor test hours away, senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah left for Hyderabad on a special flight. He will escort the MLAs back to Bengaluru ahead of tomorrow's floor test.

"Congress party is murdering the mandate. There is nothing larger than a mandate in a democracy," BJP Sambit Patra said. He also pointed out that it was the same Congress party which was hell bent on impeaching the CJI. "I am happy to see that the Congress party is finally showing respect for the Supreme Court. I hope a similar veneration is maintained in future too, and they don't change their stand from judgment to judgment," Patra said.

"It seems they knew that Congress will be the single largest party & they had this doubt that BJP & JD(S) will come together to form the government," Patra said.

"The Congress party has been exposed completely," Patra said. Citing a report in The Times of India , Patra claimed that initially, anticipating good show the Congress party had drafted a petition to be filed in Supreme Court, requesting it to order that the single-largest party should be called for swearing-in. But they changed the plea when they say that they will have to do the same thing.

"This is the real face of Congress. They want to selectively read the Constitution of India," Patra said. "Congress's selective approach won't work. The Constitution cannot be altered to the whims of the Gandhis," he added.

In a counter to Sambit Patra's presser, Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that the Supreme Court has delivered a historic verdict. ". First time a question has been raised on the role of governor and which party can he invite according to the constitutional provisions," Singhvi said.

"We want to set down a few things in perspective. The BJP's lawyers pleaded in Supreme Court that more time should be given for the floor test. The court denied. They argued that a chief minister should not be barred from making decisions, but the apex court denied that as well. Then they wanted a secret ballot. Now any one who is smart will now why would anyone place such a demand. But Supreme Court denied that request as well," Singhvi said.

Even as all the three parties are struggling to form the government with no party having a simple majority on its own, the parties are eyeing the two assembly constituencies which are yet to go to the polls — Rajarajeshwarinagar and Jayanagar. Winning these constituencies will make a huge difference to the parties which are struggling to increase their numbers to inch closer to the simple majority figure of 112.

By convention, the Pro Tem Speaker is usually the senior most MLA in the House. However, Governor Vajubhai Vale has appointed BJP's KG Bopaiah, a three-time MLA, as the Pro Tem speaker. The Congress has objected to the governor's decision and said that the convention should have been followed.

"Unless it was to ensure that the trust vote did not go against the CM, there was no conceivable reason for the Speaker to have taken up the disqualification application in such a great hurry," the Times of India had reported at the time, quoting the SC order.

In 2011 he oversaw the floor test for BS Yeddyurappa government and had disqualified all MLAs who had rebelled against Yedyurappa. His decision was upheld by Karnataka HC but overturned by Supreme Court. The apex court had castigated him for "hastily" disqualifying 16 MLAs to enable BS Yedyurappa to win the trust vote in October 2011.

KG Bopaiah, who was appointed by the governor to conduct a floor test, has been a three-time MLA. He was appointed Speaker on 17 November 2009 and he served till October 2013.

The Constitution does not define an eligibility criteria for a Pro Tem Speaker. However, a well established tradition has been that the senior-most MLA in the House has been nominated to swear-in MLAs and conduct a floor test, if needed. In the Karnataka Assembly, Congress' RV Deshpande is the senior most member in the House and has won elections eight out of the nine times that he has contested. However, KG Bopaiah, a three-time MLA and former Speaker of the Assembly has been appointed as the Pro Tem speaker.

"KG Bopaiah was appointed as pro tem speaker even in 2008 by the then Governor. That time Bopaiah was 10 years younger than what he is today. Congress is thus raising hoax objection. The appointment of Bopaiah Ji is as per rules and regulations," BJP leader and Union minister Prakash Javadekar said defending Boapaiah's appointment.

"We are constrained to hold that the proceedings conducted by the Speaker on the disqualification application filed by Yeddyurappa do not meet the twin tests of natural justice and fair play," the apex court said .

"Extraneous considerations are writ large on the face of the order of the Speaker and the same has to be set aside," the Supreme Court said while quashing then Speaker KG Boapaiah's order to disqualify 11 BJP and 5 MLAs in 2010 as it was apprehended that they would support the no-trust motion against the then BS Yeddyurappa government.

"It is a well-laid out procedure that the senior-most MLA will be appointed as the pro tem speaker. However, when in a situation when the BJP is intent on abducting the democracy and keeping it captive, then it becomes all the more important that this procedure is followed," Congres spokesperson RS Surjewala said.

" In the current situation, ​ RV Deshpande who is the senior most MLA in the Assembly, should have been appointed the pro tem speaker without any doubt. He may have been elected on a Congress ticket but at least his unbiasedness and his respect is intact, unlike Mr Bopaiah," Surjewala said.

He said that even the Supreme Court had remarked that "unless there was the intent that the trust vote does not go against the chief minister" there was no logical explanation of the Speaker's conduct. Surjewala said that it was the Supreme Court which had given stinging structures against Bopaiah.

"Governor Vajubhai Vala has once again launched an encounter on the Constitution by appointing KG Bopaiah as pro tem Speaker instead of the senior most MLA. This is the same man (Bopaiah) whose partisan conduct was even criticised by the honourable Supreme Court," Surjewala said.

"We will be able to inform you in a short while. Yes, the option of going back to Court is open," Surjewala said upon being asked if Congress will challenge BJP MLA KG Bopaiah's appointment as pro tem Speaker.

On Pratap Gowda Patil, who is also reported to be "missing", Siddaramaiah said he was with them.

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said Singh was in Delhi and would be with the party once he is "freed". "Singh is in Delhi. He is with us. Anand Singh is (at present) in captivity. Once he is free, he will be with us. He is being held hostage, but he is in touch," he said.

"(BJP president) Amit Shah did the same kind of manipulation in all the states. They don't know the Constitution and the law. They don't know anything other than false propaganda," Siddaramaiah said.

The BJP has "abducted" and "kept in wrongful confinement" Karnataka Congress MLA Anand Singh by using the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax (I-T) department against him, the party alleged on the eve of the floor test for the Yeddyurappa government.

According to various news reprots, BJP MLAs are likely to meet at the Shangri-La hotel in Bengaluru at around 9 pm to chalk out a strategy for tomorrow's floor test. The party claimed to have support of 111 MLAs, while only 104 MLAs won the elections on its ticket.

Speaking to India Today, Ghulam Nabi Azad said that the BJP in desperation has reached out to as many as 21 of our MLAs but they will not succeed. He said that a party MLA has recorded G Janardhan Reddy's call while he was trying to persuade him to come to BJP.

Singh, who is also the Supreme Court Bar Association President, said the top court should have deferred the oath ceremony of B S Yeddyurappa at the first place but welcomed the decision to give the minimum time for the floor test. - PTI

While Dwivedi said the top court's order to conduct the floor test was "quite reasonable", Sinha echoed similar views and said there was nothing wrong in the time limit granted by the apex court.

Senior advocates Rakesh Dwivedi, Ajit Sinha and Vikas Singh hailed the apex court's order and said the direction would help dispelling the speculations of "horse trading and poaching".

Legal experts were today divided over the choice of the pro tem Speaker of the Karnataka assembly by the Governor, but were one on the Supreme Court's direction to conduct the floor test tomorrow, terming it reasonable and justified.

"We are in the Shangri-La hotel for the legislature meeting. We have the majority. More than what we expected. Our workers are really happy. Of course they are with us, if the MLAs from Congress and JD(S) don't support us, how can we prove majority? We will win the floor test 101%.

"This audio CD is one of the handiworks of Congress' dirty tricks department. This is a fake CD: Prakash Javadekar on the audio, which was released by Congress, in which Janaradhana Reddy is allegedly trying to lure Congress MLA from Raichur Rural by offering him money," Javadekar said.

According to India Today, The lawyers claimed that they were stopped from entering despite having an appointment. However, it is noteworthy here that the Supreme Court is on the summer break starting today.

According to CNN-News18, junior lawyers from the Congress party are engaged in a heated argument with the registrar's staff and the Supreme Court guards after they were denied entry into the court. The report further said that the Congress party's lawyers were there to file an urgent petition over the appointment of KG Bopaiah as pro tem speaker in Karnataka.

Congress has submitted a plea requesting urgent hearing in the Supreme Court against the appointment of KG Bopaiah as pro tem speaker. The Supreme Court has not yet listed the matter for hearing, reported CNN-News18.

Congress leaders are saying (and hoping) Yedyurappa's letter to the Governor will “seal his fate”. “There is no mention of a number bigger than 104. The Governor's invitation does not mention any number at all!”, writes P Chidambaram.

Congress and JD(S) leaders have approached the Supreme Court challenging the appointment of MLA KG Bopaiah as pro-tem speaker for the floor test in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly scheduled for Saturday. A three judge Supreme Court bench will hear the application at 10:30 am Saturday in an unrelenting string of breakthroughs for the legal pushback from the Congress-JDS camp which claims it has the support of 118 MLAs.

It is submitted that there are grave and genuine concerns as far as the impartiality of the present pro tem Speaker is concerned. #FloorTest

Petitioners have made a representation to Governor requesting him to follow convention and appoint the senior member MLA as the pro tem Speaker to facilitate the #FloorTest

I am in touch with the JD(S) MLAs so that they support BS Yeddyurappa ji tomorrow. Nobody can even dare to ask me to help them & nobody has dared to ask me as yet. Party is like my mother: Preetham Gowda, BJP #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/OPgWrFTnMf

Congress leaders are saying (and hoping) Yedyurappa's letter to the Governor will “seal his fate”. “There is no mention of a number bigger than 104. The Governor's invitation does not mention any number at all!”, writes P Chidambaram.

Congress and JD(S) leaders have approached the Supreme Court challenging the appointment of MLA KG Bopaiah as pro-tem speaker for the floor test in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly scheduled for Saturday. A three judge Supreme Court bench will hear the application at 10:30 am Saturday in an unrelenting string of breakthroughs for the legal pushback from the Congress-JDS camp which claims it has the support of 118 MLAs.



Karnataka Floor Test Tomorrow LATEST UPDATES: The Congress has filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court for an urgent hearing once again after Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala appointed BJP's Virajpet MLA KG Bopaiah as the pro tem speaker. Congress has requested an urgent hearing of the matter but the CJI is yet to take a call on the matter.

Governor Vaju Bhai Vala has appointed KG Bopaiah of the BJP as the pro tem speaker to oversee the floor test. The Congress strongly objected to his appointment and said that the Supreme Court it self had criticised his 'partisan' conduct in the past during another floor test faced by the same chief minister.

Addressing a press conference, BJP's Sambit Patra said that anticipating good show, the Congress party had drafted a petition requesting SC to order that the single-largest party must be called. But when it figured that forging an alliance with JD(S) is the only way for it to come to power, it changed the case.

The Congress trained its guns on Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala on Friday for inviting BS Yeddyurappa to form the government in spite of the Congress-JD(S) combine “having the numbers”. "The governor is listening to Shah & Modi instead of following the Constitution. What the Governor did was a murder of democracy. Yeddyurappa had asked for seven days but Governor gave him 15 days to prove majority! It shows clear collusion with BJP," said Siddaramaiah.

Earlier, in a historic decision, the Supreme Court's three-judge bench ruled that the floor test, to prove majority, will be held tomorrow (Saturday) at 4 pm in Karnataka's Vidhan Soudha. The Supreme Court bench, headed by Justice Sikri, said that the Pro tem Speaker will decide the mode of the floor test. Further, the apex court ruled against secret ballot as suggested by KK Venugopal who was apppearing for BJP. The Supreme Court also ruled that the government shall not nominate the Anglo Indian Representative. And finally that the government cannot take any major policy decisions till the floor test is concluded.

The BJP and the Congress, both, showed confidence of winning the floor test. BJP's Karnataka unit tweeted: "Following SC's order for floor test tomorrow at 4 PM, we want to make one thing very clear. We are absolutely sure of our numbers and will decisively prove our majority on the floor of the house. If people's mandate has to be vindicated again, so be it. Bring it on!" In a press briefing following the Supreme Court order, former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said, "Governor mustnt favour any party and any decision he takes shouldn't be biased. Bunch of us had gone to the Governor and told him that BJP doesn't have the numbers. Karnataka did not vote for BJP."

The Supreme Court was hearing a petition filed by the Congress-JD(S) combine in Karnataka against the decision of Governor Vajubhai Vala to invite BJP’s BS Yeddyurappa to form the government. Senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi produced the letter by Yeddyurappa to the governor. “I have the support of others and requisite majority,” reads BSY's letter.

Rohatgi said there was no need to name the MLAs supporting BJP. The SC told Rohatgi while Yeddyurappa’s letter didn't disclose names of MLAs, the other side gave letter signed by MLAs. “Ultimately it is the number game and the Governor needs to see which aide has the number,” the SC said. Rohatgi insisted that there was an “unholy alliance” between the Congress and the JD(S). Earlier, sources said the Congress and the JD(S), fearing their MLAs being poached by the BJP, moved their MLAs out of Karnataka on Thursday night. Sources said except two Congress MLA s all have gone to Hyderabad. All 38 JD(S) MLAs and two Independents are also in the city. Total 116 MLAs are there.

Fearing MLA poaching by the BJP, the Congress and JDS moved their MLAs out of Karnataka on Thursday night. The Congress MLAs were taken to Hyderabad and JD(S) members were shifted to Kochi on buses, sources said. Earlier, all MLAs were expected to board a chartered plane from Mysore or Bangalore to Cochin in Left-ruled Kerela, but the permission for the same was denied.

JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy alleged that the DGCA had not permitted the flight to take off from Bengaluru. Meanwhile, in Delhi, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court will on Friday hear a petition filed by the Congress-JD(S) combine in Karnataka against the decision of Governor Vajubhai Vala to invite BJP’s BS Yeddyurappa to form the government.

The BJP, which won 104 seats, emerged as the single largest party in the state Assembly. During the high-voltage hearing, which lasted from 2.11 am to 5.28 am, the top court made it clear that the swearing-in and government formation would be subject to the final outcome of the case. The court directed the Centre to place before it two communications sent by Yeddyurappa to the Governor in which he had staked claim to form government, saying their perusal was necessary to decide the case. It issued notices to Karnataka government and Yeddyurappa seeking their replies on the plea filed by Congress-JD (S) combine and posted the matter for Friday.

BS Yeddyurappa was sworn-in as the chief minister of Karnataka after the Supreme Court refused to stay Governor's decision. However, the top court has kept it subject to the case’s outcome. Governor Vajubhai Vala administered the oath of office and secrecy to Yeddyurappa at the Raj Bhavan amid tight security. The beleaguered Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) leaders, however, protested against the swearing-in of Yeddyurappa and termed the governor's decision "unconstitutional".

"Constitutionally, we (JD(S) and Congress) should have been given the chance to form the government as we together have the majority in the Assembly. The governor's decision to invite the BJP to form the government is against the Constitution," state unit Congress chief G Parameshwara told reporters in Bengaluru.

Earlier, a three-judge bench of the apex court rejected a joint writ petition, filed by the Congress and the JD(S) on Wednesday night, to halt the swearing-in of Yeddyurappa as the chief minister at a special pre-dawn hearing. The top court, however, said the swearing-in of Yeddyurappa was subject to the final outcome of the matter before it and posted the case for further hearing at 10.30 am on Friday.

The bench, headed by Justice AK Sikri, also sought the letter Yeddyurappa wrote to the governor on Wednesday, informing him about his election as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislature party leader in Karnataka.

Vala on Wednesday night invited Yeddyurappa to form the government and prove within 15 days that he had a majority in the Legislative Assembly.

Although the BJP emerged as the single-largest party winning 104 seats in the 12 May assembly election, it fell short of eight seats from the 112-halfway mark in the Lower House, in which the Congress trailed behind with 78 wins and the regional JD(S) 37 seats.

This is the third time Yeddyurappa took oath as the state chief minister, a decade after he became the BJP's first chief minister in south India in May 2008 when the party came to power for the first time in the southern state. Among the Congress leaders who protested Yeddyurappa's swearing-in were the former chief minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah, party General Secretary KC Venugopal and senior party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad. "Yeddyurappa first needs to furnish the list proving his majority in the House," Siddaramaiah told reporters.

JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda also joined the protest, while his son and JD(S) state president HD Kumaraswamy attacked the Modi government for "demolishing" democracy. "Modi government wants to demolish democracy by targeting the Opposition parties. Even when the JD(S) and the Congress together have the majority, we weren't invited by the governor to form the government," lamented Kumaraswamy, a former chief minister.

In a related development, the Congress and the JD(S) have lodged their newly-elected legislators at a resort on the city's outskirts, ostensibly to prevent them being poached by the BJP, which they alleged was indulging in "horse trading" to win over their MLAs. "We have a need to safeguard our MLAs from poaching by the BJP, which is why they have been moved to a resort on the city outskirts," Kumaraswamy told reporters in Bengaluru.

Meanwhile, the 'Karnataka effect' also led the Congress in Goa and the RJD in Bihar on Thursday to say that they would ask the governors of their states to give them a chance to form the government, the same way that Yeddyurappa was sworn-in in Karnataka as the leader of the single largest party.

The Congress-JD(S) combine also moved the Supreme Court against Vala's alleged move to nominate an Anglo-Indian member to the Assembly, saying it should not be done till the floor test in the House. The interim application, filed this afternoon, is likely to be heard on Friday along with the main petition of the combine on which the apex court in the wee hours on Thursday refused to stay the swearing-in of BS Yeddyurappa as the chief minister of the state.

The Congress will also observe 'Save Democracy Day' across the country to protest Vala's "collusion with the BJP" and his "partisan" action of inviting Yeddyurappa to take oath in Karnataka.

With inputs from agencies