The three-day-old BJP government in Karnataka headed by Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa proved its majority with ease in the Assembly on Monday by winning the confidence motion by voice vote.
Soon after the trust vote and the passage of the Finance Bill for a period of three months along with the supplementary budget, Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar, who had disqualified 17 rebel MLAs of the Congress and the JD(S) over the last few days, tendered his resignation.
A depleted House
The 17 disqualifications had put the BJP in a comfortable position in the passage of the confidence motion, with the effective strength of the House down to 208 where the BJP enjoys the support of 106 MLAs. This was in contrast to Mr. Yediyurappa’s third term in 2018 when he had to resign on account of lack of numbers within 48 hours of being sworn in. His government is now safe for at least six months, with any possibility of no confidence motion being moved again foreclosed till then.
The Opposition Congress and JD(S) did not press for division of votes, while vociferously opposing the confidence motion, terming it “immoral and unconstitutional.” The desertions by MLAs, allegedly engineered by the BJP, brought down the Congress-JD(S) coalition government by reducing it to a minority.
CLP leader Siddaramaiah said Mr. Yediyurappa would not be able to give a stable government.
The Chief Minister, on the other hand, argued that the 14-month rule of the coalition had seen the administrative machinery “collapsing”, which saw his predecessor H.D. Kumaraswamy hitting back demanding proof of his allegation.
Soon after the trust vote, making a brief speech before tendering his resignation, Mr. Ramesh Kumar made a plea for electoral reforms and a relook into the anti-defection law.
He urged the House to discuss the issue of electoral reforms and send a resolution to Parliament.
“If we speak of rooting out corruption without electoral reforms, it will only be hypocrisy,” he said.
Arguing that the Tenth Schedule needs a “total re-examination”, he said the law in its current form is not equipped with sufficient provisions to prevent defections. The House should put “a moral pressure” to amend it, Mr. Ramesh Kumar urged.
