Kumaraswamy seeks floor test; SC asks Speaker to maintain status quo until Tuesday

Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Friday, July 12, said that he was ready to seek a trust vote to prove the majority of his government on the floor of the house, and asked Speaker Ramesh Kumar to fix a time and date for the exercise.

"I have decided to seek trust vote, please fix a time for it. If the Speaker permits, I am ready to prove majority in the House" Kumaraswamy said while speaking on the floor of the Assembly. Kumaraswamy exuded confidence in the majority of his government and said that the situation has forced him to take this decision.

Meanwhile, the apex court has asked Karnataka Speaker Ramesh Kumar to not take any decision on resignation or disqualification of rebel MLAs till Tuesday, July 16. The Supreme Court bench, headed by CJI Ranjan Gogoi, took up the pleas and directed the Speaker to maintain status quo.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who represented the 10 rebel MLAs, said that the resignation letters are one-liners and yet Speaker Ramesh Kumar needs a whole night to study it.

Earlier, Kumar has moved the apex court asking for more time to decide on these MLAs' resignation. The rebel MLAs in the Congress-JD(S) coalition flew to Bengaluru to meet Karnataka Speaker on Thursday. The Supreme Court had directed the 10 rebel MLAs to meet the Karnataka assembly Speaker at his office in Bengaluru.

Asked whether he had accepted the resignations, Kumar told reporters that he cannot work at lightning speed as the process would take time. Kumar confirmed that the MLAs have resubmitted their resignations. Earlier, the MLAs were spotted marching towards the Vidhan Soudha in Bengaluru with empty sheets of paper to rewrite their resignations and submit it to the Speaker.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister HD Kuramaswamy claimed that his government still has the numbers and he does not need to resign.

The apex court bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, has asked the Speaker to update him about the developments by Friday. 

"After all these developments, I am seeking your permission and time to prove the majority in this session," HD Kumaraswamy was quoted as saying by ANI in Vidhan Soudha in Bengaluru. 

The top court directed both sides to maintain status quo and announced that the matter will eb heard again on Tuesday, July 16, 2019. 

Dr Rajeev Dhavan, who is representing the Karnataka Chief Minister, said that the speaker has acted in a mala-fide manner. Dr Dhavan also objected to the submissions of resignations by the rebel MLAs, reports ANI. 

During the hearing, the speaker said that the petitions filed by the rebel MLAs could not be accepted under Article 32. Adding that a time-bound decision cannot be taken regarding the resignations, the Speaker said that the MLAs had resigned just to avoid being disqualified. 

Congress leader and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi had also stated that the MLAs had resigned to avoid being disqualified. 

"We will ask court to implement its order so that speaker takes decision as soon as possible.If all MLAs appeared before him, gave affidavits and moved Supreme Court that they want to resign,what further verification is required I don't understand," Sr lawyer M Rohatgi was quoted as saying by ANI. 

Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Prahlad Joshi called out the Speaker for not making the decision reagarding the resignations soon. 

Joshi told reporters, "... speaker should take the decision at the earliest since they (MLAs) have submitted their resignation in person. There should not be any reason to further drag the constitutional crisis in the state."

Laying all rumours to rest, JD(S) said that there will be no alliance with the BJP amid the current political crisis. This clarification came about amid speculations of BJP offering to form a coalition with the JD(S). 

"They [the rebel MLAs] told me that some people had threatened them and they went to Mumbai in fear. I told them that they should've approached me and I would have given them protection. Only 3 working days have elapsed but they behaved as if an earthquake occurred," Speaker Ramesh Kumar. 

Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy assured everyone on Thursday that despite efforts by the rebel MLAs to destabilise the coalition, the alliance between the two parties is still strong. 

HDK had tweeted on Thursday, "Congress -JDS coalition in the state is going strong despite the efforts to destabilize. We are confident and prepared for a smooth and fruitful conduct of legislative sessions."

He added, "It is unnecessary to give importance to Tourism Minister Sa. Ra. Mahesh's casual meeting with BJP leaders at the new building of KK guest house, managed by KSTDC which comes under his portfolio."

"You cannot expect me to work at lightning speed. I have to go through the procedure as per the constitution. I need to examine these resignations all night and ascertain if they are genuine," Karnataka Speaker Kumar told the media when they asked him about the resignations.