Archives for May 2018

The Congress-JP(S) combine vowed to fight Governor Vajubhai Vala’s decision of inviting the BJP to form the government, with its chief ministerial candidate H D Kumaraswamy terming it as ‘Gujarati Business.’

Kumaraswamy referred to Vala, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah -all of Gujarati origin – as ‘Trimurthis’ (trinity). ‘The Trimurthis think they can start their Gujarati business in Karnataka. We will not allow it. The BJP is trying to indulge in horse trading. All they want to do is loot the state like they did M 2008,” Kumaraswamy said in a scathing attack

The Congress-JP(S) alliance staked claim to form a government based on a numerical strength of 117 legislators as against the strength of 104. The magic number to form a government is 111. Kumaraswamy questioned Vala’s decision to give the BJP 15 days to prove majority instead of 3-4 days.

The BJP was building pressure on him (Kumaraswamy) to join hands with the saffron party, he said. “I took a hard decision not to support those who are looting the state. I will face whatever comes next.”

Kumaraswamy accused Modi of ‘uprooting’ democracy. “If there is resort politics today, it’s thanks to Modi. I can’t have my elected representatives sleeping in the streets till then. It is my duty to protect them. The BJP has gained expertise in kidnapping MIAs. Hence, I have to take them somewhere,” he said.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G Parameshwara dubbed Vala’s decision as “absolute dishonour to the Constitution of India.” In a tweet, Parameshwara said: “The JCI(S)+Congress is the largest coalition majority, which is rightfully eligible to form a government. We will not let BJP suppress it”

The Congress national leadership started exploring legal options soon after the Governor’s decision became public late on Wednesday night “KIPP) cannot buy everything with money. We’ll not allow democracy to be crushed;’ Parameshwara added.

BS Yeddyurappa had been sworn in as chief minister of a minority government and has 15 days to close the gap between 104 and 112 – the halfway mark.
The Congress has decided to move its lawmakers out of Karnataka. Reports suggest they will be flown to Cochin in Kerala.

The Janata Dal-Secular has reportedly also decided to fly out its legislators.

BS Yeddyurappa had been sworn in as chief minister of a minority government and has 15 days to close the gap between 104 and 112 – the halfway mark.

The Congress and the JDS, who had also staked claim to power declaring a combined strength of 116, are preparing to “protect” their flock for two weeks.

The Congress alleges that one of its lawmakers, Anand Singh, has already been threatened and is under pressure to defect.

“All MLAs are here except Anand Singh,” confirmed DK Singh, a Congress MP, at the state assembly Vidhan Souda, where the party’s legislators had gathered for a protest.
eagleton golf resort
On Wednesday, Karnataka Congress MLAs were taken to Eagleton Resorts near Bengaluru

JDS Leader HD Kumaraswamy said Anand Singh had been threatened with action by the Enforcement Directorate in an illegal mining case.

“Our plan is to safeguard MLAs. The BJP and their ministers are working to purchase MLAs, people should know about the attitude of the central government,” said Mr Kumaraswamy, who had asked Governor Vajubhai Vala to invite him to form government in alliance with the Congress.

Last evening, a busload of Congress legislators was moved around, first to the Governor’s house for a possible show of strength, then to the Eagleton Resorts near Bengaluru, a private property that has become a go-to destination for “resort politics”.

The lawmakers were constantly on the move as news emerged that the governor had decided to invite BS Yeddyurappa and given him two weeks to prove his majority.

Last year, the Congress had kept its Gujarat legislators in the same resort ahead of the Rajya Sabha election, when its candidate Ahmed Patel was facing a BJP rival and every vote became crucial.

The JDS lawmakers spent the night at the Shangrila hotel in Bengaluru.

Despite strong determination by JD(S) to ensure defeat of Zameer Ahmed Khan (Congress) in Chamrajpet, Zameer emerged victorious, that too effortlessly by a margin of 33,137 votes, against B K Altaf Khan (JD-S). Zameer had turned hostile to JD(S) after he cross voted against a party candidate in the 2016 Rajya Sabha polls. Since then, JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda was waiting to teach Zameer a lesson and had vowed to defeat him. But his strategies fell flat with Zameer winning by a margin of 33,137 votes and Altaf Khan coming third.

Various factors worked in favour of Zameer and it appears that he was largely benefited by the consolidation of Muslim votes and the large vote base the Congress enjoys in the segment. Zameer was deeply entrenched in the constituency, with a strong influence over people of different communities in many slum pockets of Chamarajpet. This turned out be a major challenge for his opponents to divide votes. Also, the attitude of JD(S) to just see his defeat and the lack of aggression to ensure its candidate’s victory turned into an advantage for him.

Both JD(S) and BJP did not field a strong candidate who could stop Khan from winning for the fourth time. Zameer’s popularity with grass-root level workers ensured his victory, despite defecting JD(S) and contesting on Congress ticket. JD(S) and the BJP did not execute effective campaigns while Zameer went for door-to-door campaigning.

Police had to lathi charge a group of Janata Dal Secular workers this afternoon as the bus carrying party workers was stopped due to maintenance of zero traffic following the exit of new chief minister BS Yeddyurappa from Vidhana Soudha.
The chief minister was on his way to the party office after addressing a press conference at Vidhana Soudha and later spending some time in his office meeting state government officials.
The Janata Dal Secular legislators under the leadership of HD Kumaraswamy,former chief minister and state president were on their way back to Shangrila multi star hotel after protesting before the huge Mahatma Gandhi statue in between Vidhana Soudha and Vikas Soudha.
The Janata Dal Secular workers tried to manhandle the policemen on duty since the bus carrying the JDS legislators and their leader HD Kumaraswamy was stopped midway just to make way for the chief minister’s convoy.
The cops were forced to use force in order to disperse the unruly crowd while some of them were taken into preventive custody.The bus with JDS legislators later returned to the private hotel.
Hindusthan Samachar/Manohar Yadavatti

BS Yeddyurappa in his maiden press conference soon after taking the oath of office and secrecy as Chief Minister appealed upon the newly elected Janata Dal Secular and Congress legislators to vote in accordance to their conscience during the crucial vote of confidence.
He also allayed fears about proving majority on the floor of the house and expressed full confidence in establishing the same soon much before the deadline of 15 days given to him by the Governor.However he refused to add further on queries as to how he would prove the majority in the absence of required numbers to his party.
BS Yeddyurappa recalled the 1969 elections to the post of the country’s President when the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had called upon her own party men to vote as per their conscience.He felt the need of the hour is to vote on similar lines in the overall interest of development of the state.
The new chief minister also announced in his first media interaction that he is committed to adhering to the assurances he had made before coming to power.The chief secretary has been instructed to revert on the details about the quantum of money that needs to be waived off as per his declaration made before the polls.
BS Yeddyurappa had announced waiver of farmers loans to the extent of Rs. one lakh availed from nationalized banks,crop loans borrowed by cooperative societies and loans to the extent of Rs. one lakh borrowed by the weavers of the state.
He claimed that the people of the state have given a mandate to the BJP and not the JDS and Congress.Yet both the JDS and Congress have formed an unholy alliance just to be in power,he charged.
The chief minister for the third time also thanked the people of the state for returning the party in such big numbers.He also thanked the party workers,Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amith Shah for their efforts in bringing the party back to power.

Hindusthan Samachar/Manohar Yadavatti

BS Yeddyurappa has been sworn-in as the chief minister of Karnataka after the Supreme Court refused to stay Governor’s decision. However, the top court has kept it subject to the case’s outcome.
CM Yeddyurappa has said he was “100 percent sure” of winning the vote of confidence in the assembly and completing the five-year term.

He slammed the Congress-JDS alliance as “unholy” and charged they were out to grab power though the people had “rejected them outright”, PTI has reported.

“I am sure of winning the vote of confidence and my government completing five years,” said Yeddyurappa, who has been given 15-days window by Governor Vajubhai Vala in a controversial decision that has been challenged in the Supreme Court.

Senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani on Thursday approached the Supreme Court in his personal capacity against Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala’s decision of inviting BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa to form a new government in the state despite being eight short of a simple majority in the assembly.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud asked Jethmalani to mention his plea on Friday before the bench concerned.

Jethmalani, who had taken retirement from law practice, told the bench that the Karnataka Governor’s order is a “gross abuse of Constitutional power”.

The apex court early on Thursday after a midnight hearing refused to stall the swearing-in of Yeddyurappa as Karnataka’s new Chief Minister.

Yeddyurappa took the oath as the Chief Minister of Karnataka on Thursday at 9 a.m. at the Raj Bhavan amid tight security.

The court, however, sought the communications which Yeddyurappa had written to Karnataka Governor informing him his election as BJP legislature party.

The apex court said that the swearing-in is subject to the final outcome of the matter before it.

The bench headed by Justice A.K. Sikri, while seeking Yeddyurappa’s response on the petition by Congress and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) seeking to stall his swearing-in, has directed further hearing of the matter at 10.30 a.m. on Friday.

Loud chants of “Modi, Modi” by about 100 jubilant cadres of the BJP were heard at the oath-taking ceremony of their leader B.S. Yeddyurappa as the Chief Minister of Karnataka at Raj Bhavan here on Thursday.

Even as Yeddyurappa was signing the relevant papers after taking oath in Kannada, administered by Governor Vajubhai R. Vala, the “Modi, Modi” chants reverberated across the ‘Glass House’ in the green lawns of Raj Bhavan in the city center.

Excited over Yeddyurappa, 75, becoming Chief Minister for the third time, celebrations broke out in front of Raj Bhavan, at the party’s office in the city’s northwest suburb and many districts across the southern state.

Sporting a green shawl, symbolizing solidarity with farmers in the state, Yeddyurappa took the oath in the name of god and farmers.

Among the party’s national and state leaders present at the simple swearing-in ceremony were Union Ministers Prakash Javadekar, J.P. Nadda, D.V. Sadanda Gowda and Ananth Kumar and Lok Sabha lawmakers from the state Prahlad Joshi and Shobha Karandlaje.

Though Yeddyurappa was seen smiling and waving the victory, he did not speak to the media on the occasion but headed to the state’s secretariat in the nearby Vidhana Soudha building that also houses the state legislature.

The BJP leader, who was invited by the Governor on Wednesday to take oath as the Chief Minister and form the government, was directed to prove his majority on the floor of the House within 15 days of assuming office.

“We will get the support and prove our majority on the floor of the House,” a confident Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ananth Kumar told reporters outside Raj Bhavan.

Sadanand Gowda called it an end of dictatorship as Yeddyurappa took the oath as the 23rd Chief Minister of the state.

“Though the power-hungry JD-S (Janata Dal-Secular) and Congress tried to stop the mass leader BSY (B.S.Yeddyurappa) from becoming CM, people of Karnataka held the hand of BSY tight. Dictatorship is over now. It’s the people’s government in Karnataka,” Gowda tweeted.

BJP’s legislature party leader B.S. Yeddyurappa took oath as the Karnataka Chief Minister here on Thursday hours after the Supreme Court declined to stay his swearing-in ceremony.

Governor Vajubhai Vala administered the oath of office and secrecy to Yeddyurappa at 9 a.m. at the Raj Bhavan amid tight security.

Yeddyurappa, 75, took the oath in Kannada in the presence of party’s central and state leaders and its newly-elected legislators and senior officials.

Earlier, a three-judge bench of the apex court rejected a joint writ petition of the Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) to stall the swearing-in of Yeddyurappa as the Chief Minister at a special pre-dawn hearing.

The top court, however, said the swearing-in of Yeddyurappa was subject to the final outcome of the matter before it and posted the case for further hearing at 10.30 a.m. on Friday.

The bench, headed by Justice A.K. Sikri, also sought the letter Yeddyurappa wrote to the Governor on Wednesday informing him his election as the Bharatiya Janata Party’s legislature party leader in Karnataka.

He was elected for the eighth time from the Shikaripura assembly segment in Shivamogga district of the Malnad region on May 12 when polling was held in 222 constituencies across the state and results were declared on Tuesday.

This is the third time Yeddyurappa took oath as the Karnataka Chief Minister, a decade after he became the BJP’s first Chief Minister in south India in May 2008 when the party came to power for the first time in Karnataka.

He was sworn-in for the first time as the chief minister in October 2007 as the party’s leader in the JD-S-BJP coalition government that lasted for over a month, resulting in President’s rule from November to April and mid-term assembly elections in May 2008.