The political uncertainty in Karnataka is headed for a climax with Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy set to face a trust vote on Thursday.
Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar informed the Assembly on Monday that Mr. Kumaraswamy would move the confidence motion at 11 a.m.
This is the second time that the Chief Minister is seeking a trust vote since the government was formed on May 23, 2018, following a fractured mandate.
The Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government is facing a threat of withdrawal of support by 18 MLAs, including two Independents.
On Friday, Mr. Kumaraswamy announced that he was not keen on hanging on to power in the current situation and would seek a vote of confidence. He appealed to the Speaker to fix a time for the vote.
BAC meeting
Before the House was reconvened on Monday after the weekend break, the Speaker chaired a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) to evolve a consensus on the day and timing for the confidence motion.
The meeting was attended by Mr. Kumaraswamy, Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara, Leader of the Opposition B.S. Yeddyurappa and members of the ruling and Opposition parties.
While the Opposition demanded that the government seek a trust vote on Monday itself, the Chief Minister refused to accede to the demand and proposed to move the motion on Wednesday.
Before the meeting, the BJP submitted a petition to the Speaker on moving a no-confidence motion against the coalition government since the Chief Minister had made only a statement on the trust vote but had not fixed the day.
Summarising the issues discussed and the outcome of the BAC meeting, the Speaker said the BJP members decided to abstain from the session till the trust vote was taken up for discussion. Since he was not in favour of conducting the House proceedings in the absence of Opposition members, the House would meet on Thursday at 11 a.m. and immediately take up discussion of the confidence motion, said Mr. Kumar.
“I am going by the true spirit of the Constitution and rules and regulations of the House,” he said. He told members to be careful about the language they use during the debate on the motion.
Besides the Speaker’s statement, the House did not transact any business. The Speaker adjourned the House till Thursday.
