BJP can't force or blackmail us, says Congress on Karnataka bandh threat

The political uncertainty in Karnataka will come to an end today if the H D Kumaraswamy-led Congress-JD(S) government sails through the floor test as it is expected to do

Turmoil over government formation in Karnataka finally ended as newly sworn-in Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy won floor test after the JD(S)-Congress coalition voted in his favour. During Karnataka Assembly session, Yeddyruappa slammed Congress-JD(S). Tearing into H D Deve Gowda, B S Yeddyurappa on Friday called him a chameleon and said Congress leader Shivkumar would regret alliance with JD(S). The BJP leader added, "my fight is not against Shivkumar. I'm against Deve Gowda and JD(S)". BJP leaders walked out of Karnataka Assembly right after Yeddyurappa finished his speech.

However, there seem to be no end to the troubles in store for the alliance. One of the possible threats Kumaraswamy faces is from a repeat of Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) 'Operation Kamala', while the other has emerged from his coalition partner, the Congress, which has said that no decision has been taken on the full extent of his tenure as chief minister.   

The coalition received a major boost ahead of the floor test on Friday. Congress leader K R Ramesh Kumar was unanimously elected as Speaker of the house after BJP withdrew its leader Suresh Kumar's candidature for the post.

Kumaraswamy was sworn in at a grand assembly of Opposition and regional leaders, hailing from parties looking to form a joint front against the BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, on Wednesday. 

The BJP emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats (only eight seats short of the simple majority mark of 112) in the high-voltage state Assembly poll that saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi launch into a rally blitz. However, the Congress party with 78 seats and the JD(S) with 37 seats, along with two independent candidates, stitched up a post-poll alliance with a total of 117 MLAs.  

BJP's B S Yeddyurappa, who was sworn in as Karnataka chief minister on May 17, had to step down two days later in the face of defeat without going through the motions of a floor test. 

Karnataka's 224-member Assembly has an effective strength of 221, as elections for the Jayanagar seat was countermanded following the death of the BJP candidate and deferred in R R Nagar over allegations of electoral malpractices.

Here are the top ten developments around Karnataka government formation:

1) Congress responds to BJP's threat: Responding to BJP's threat of a state-wide bandh, Congress leader D K Shivakumar said they would not act under pressure and wish of the BJP.

"The BJP cannot waste public money by calling this bandh, if a law and order problem is created it will be because of them. They cannot force and blackmail us. We are a responsible government and cannot act to wishes of the BJP," Shivakumar said.



A meeting was held over cabinet expansion after floor test, CM H D Kumaraswamy, Deputy CM Dr G Parameshwar, Siddaramaiah, KC Venugopal and HD Revanna were present in the meeting, according to ANI.

2) BJP walks out of Karnataka Assembly on floor test day: BJP walked out of Karnataka assembly after BJP's B S Yeddyurappa said that we will hold a state-wide bandh on May 28, if CM HD Kumaraswamy doesn’t waive off farmer loans. "We walked out on the issue on farmers' loan waivers. We will hold state-wide bandh May 28. We will be aggressive now", R Ashoka, BJP, outside Karnataka Assembly after BJP walked out of the assembly.

BJP leader R Ashoka said they will be aggressive on the issue of the farmers' loan waivers and will take action if the state government does not take action soon.

3) Congress' K R Ramesh elected speaker: Congress' K R Ramesh Kumar was on Friday unanimously elected as the speaker of the Karnataka Assembly after the BJP withdrew S Suresh Kumar's candidature for the Speaker's post. 

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy thanked opposition leaders for unanimously electing the speaker. "To all Opposition leaders, I want to express my gratitude to have ultimately decided to make it a unanimous election. It is quite rare to have a unanimous candidate like this," Kumaraswamy said.

4) 'Withdrew nomination to maintain dignity of the Speaker's post': BJP's B S Yeddyurappa said his party withdrew the nomination of BJP candidate as it wanted the election to be unanimous in order to maintain dignity of the Speaker's post.

5) Kumaraswamy suspects another 'Operation Kamala': After taking oath, Kumaraswamy said he had an apprehension that the BJP would try to repeat 'Operation Kamala' to bring down his government. The term 'Operation Kamala' or 'Operation Lotus' was coined in 2008 when BJP state chief Yeddyurappa took over as the chief minister. The party was short of three MLAs for a simple majority. As part of the operation, some Congress and JD(S) MLAs were persuaded to join the saffron party, relinquish their membership of the Assembly, and recontest elections. Their resignations brought down the numbers required for a victory during the trust vote, which Yeddyurappa won.   

6) 'No decision yet on whether Kumaraswamy will serve full five-year term as CM': In an indication of irritants Kumaraswamy could face in the future, a day ahead of the trust vote, Congress leader and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said the Congress-JD(S) coalition was yet to discuss modalities about Kumaraswamy continuing as chief minister for a full five-year term.  

  

7) Congress-JD(S) yet to decide on portfolio division: Parameshwara also said that the Congress was yet to decide on what portfolios have to go to the JD(S). He said, "We are also yet to decide on what portfolios have to go to them and what should be with us, then five-year term -- whether they should be or we should also... All those modalities we have still not discussed." 

8) Kumaraswamy denies talks of power-sharing formula for CM's chair: Ahead of his swearing-in, Kumaraswamy had dismissed reports about his party working out a power-sharing formula with the Congress, where the two parties would head the government for 30 months each. His coalition partner, the Congress, had said, "No such talks have taken place."  

9) Congress-JD(S) coordination committee to be created after floor test: According to Parameshwara, Congress and JD(S) leaders, along with the chief minister, will sit together to decide on a coordination committee after the floor test today. "At the same time, we will form an empanelled group to formulate a common minimum programme," he said.   

10) JD(S) to nominate its candidate for Deputy Speaker's post: As decided by the coalition partners, the JD(S) will name one of its senior legislators to the Deputy Speaker's post after the Speaker's election.    

Kumaraswamy Cabinet to be expanded next week: Kumaraswamy plans to expand his Cabinet next week after the Congress submits the names for its quota of 21 Cabinet posts and he selects 11 of his legislators to fill his party's quota. "Discussions on the Cabinet expansion and who will be the ministers will be held during the weekend as the leaders will be free after the trust vote on Friday," a JD(S) official said.


 

With agency inputs