Marked by high drama, the Karnataka assembly was adjourned till Friday after it took up the confidence motion moved by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy with Governor Vajubhai Vala asking him to prove his majority by 1.30 pm Friday.
Shortly after the assembly rocked by bedlam was adjourned, Vala shot off a letter to Kumaraswamy, saying resingation of 15 ruling combine MLAs and withdrawal of support by two independents "prima facie" indicated he has lost the confidence of the House.
The Governor's direction to the CM came after his message to the Speaker to conclude the trust vote process by the end of Thursday was not heeded to and the House was adjourned after barely focusing on the debate on the motion through the day.
"I request you to prove your majority on the floor of the House on or before 1:30 PM tomorrow (Friday)," Vala said in his letter to Kumaraswamy.
Earlier, the assembly witnessed three adjournments, acrimony and repeated disruptions by belligerent slogan shouting Congress members after the motion was moved by Kumaraswamy to decide the fate of the Congress-JDS government wracked by rebellion by a section of its MLAs threatening its survival.
BJP alleged the ruling coalition was deliberately prolonging the trust vote to buy time to shore up its numbers and save the government.
More From This Section
The drama unfolded right from the word go as, facing truncated strength caused by the en masse resignation of 16 ruling coalition MLAs, Kumaraswamy moved a one-line motion, saying the House expressed confidence in the 14-month old ministry headed by him.
Twenty lawmakers did not turn up Thursday, including 17 from the ruling coalition, 12 of whom are corralled in a hotel in Mumbai, as the House debated in a surcharged atmosphere.
Before it was adjourned, BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa declared his party members would stay put in the House itself overnight and even till the time the trust vote was decided.
"We will stay until the trust vote is decided," Yeddyurappa said after the BJP, exasperated over the delay in taking up the voting, also rushed a delegation to the Governor to ask the Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar to conclude the trust vote process by the end of the day itself.
Acting swiftly, Vala asked the speaker to complete the process of vote of confidence moved by the end of the day.
BJP leaders said they were mulling moving the Supreme Court in the light of Thursday's developments.
Sending a stern message, the Governor in his letter to Kumaraswamy said "In my capacity as the Head of the State I had not intervened on the matter having regard to the fact that the House was called and Trust vote has been moved.
"However, it has been reported to me that the proceedings of the House today for vote of confidence has been stalled and consequently adjourned without reaching any finality, and this cannot go on in a democratic set up governed by the Constitution of India, he said.
Adding to the worries of the ruling coalition, another Congress MLA Shreemant Patil was not seen in the House, in the midst of reports he has been admitted in a Mumbai hospital.
At one point, Congress members carrying pictures of Patil rushed towards the well of the House shouting slogans "Down Down BJP" and "down down operation Kamala (lotus)" to bring down the government.
BSP MLA Mahesh, on whose support the coalition was counting, also did not show up, amid reports he was keeping away as he has not received any directions from the party leader Mayawati on the stand to be taken on the trust vote.
Seeking the trust vote, Kumaraswamy said the rebel MLAs had cast doubts about the coalition government across the country and "we have to tell the truth."
In his message to the speaker, Vala said the chief minister was expected to maintain the confidence of the House at all times during his tenure. "I, therefore, send this message to the House to consider completing the proceedings of the House by the end of the day."
The speaker read out the message and said "I have brought it to the notice of the House."
He said he had developed chest pain due to which he was admitted at a hospital in Mumbai where he had gone for some "personal work."