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Karnataka: Yediyurappa wins trust vote, Speaker resigns; Assembly passes Appropriation Bill
Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa won the trust vote comfortably today (Monday, July 29) after a turbulent three weeks during which 17 MLAs of the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition resigned their seats, reducing their 14-month old government led by HD Kumaraswamy to a minority.
The Speaker also resigned his post after the trust vote today. “Sometimes we have had to take some harsh decision, we are small people. We should try and not disrespect the chair that we sit on… People come and go, chief Ministers come and go, be good and do good,” Speaker KR Ramesh said before he resigned.
The Speaker had Sunday disqualified 11 Congress and three JD(S) rebel MLAs under the anti-defection law, thus ending their hopes of being inducted into the BJP government. He had disqualified three others earlier.
“The way I am being pressurised mentally as Speaker to deal with all these things, I am pushed into a sea of depression,” the Speaker had said after announcing the disqualification of the rebels yesterday.
The decision brought down the strength of the Assembly, reducing the majority mark in the assembly to pave the way for the newly formed BJP government to win the trust vote smoothly today.
Yediyurappa – who became Chief Minister for the fourth time – said he would not indulge in “politics of vengeance” as he believed in the “forget and forgive” principle. The Congress and the JDS have accused the BJP of horse-trading — an allegation the party has denied.
Ahead of the trust vote, Yediyurappa, said he was given the chance to be back in this seat “for a special reason”.
“If you think that we took a decision that will affect the people in a bad way, you can reach out to us,” he added. The 76-year-old had started the day with prayers at a temple in Bengaluru. A superstitious man, he has reverted to the earlier English spelling of his name “Yediyurappa” instead of “Yeddyurappa” apparently influenced by numerology.
The change became public on July 26 in his letter to Governor Vajubhai Vala, staking claim to form the government, and later, in the official invitation for the swearing-in ceremony of the BJP leader as Karnataka Chief Minister.
The short debate on the trust motion saw sharp exchange of barbs. JD(S) leader and ousted CM HD Kumaraswamy said: “All that has happened with the rebels, with power – all this will go down in history… The rebels have been brought to the streets. They had special flight last time, (this time) I hear that they are getting normal flights.”
Congress leader Siddaramaiah attacked Yediyurappa calling the BJP government “immoral.”
“You have no mandate of the people,” Siddaramaiah told Yediyurappa. “Where is the mandate in your favour … where is the majority … Yediyurappa has become the chief minister with just 105 members,” Siddaramaiah said.
“Let us see how long you will be (the chief minister). … I want you to be (CM) for the full term but I don’t think you will be able to complete it (the term),” Siddaramaiah told Yediyurappa.
“Unfortunately, Yediyurappa has never been CM with people’s mandate. Where’s the mandate? You didn’t have it in 2008, 2018 or even now. When he took oath, there were 222 MLAs in House, where did BJP have 112 MLAs for majority? They had 105 seats. That is not mandate,” the Congress leader remarked.
Earlier, while moving the confidence motion, Yediyurappa said, “My becoming the chief minister is according to expectations of the people.”
He also vowed not to indulge in vendetta politics and said, “I will not indulge in politics of vengeance. I believe in the forget and forgive principle.”
Yediyurappa’s one-line motion that the House expresses confidence in the ministry headed by him was passed with a voice vote. He said the administrative machinery had collapsed and his priority was to bring it back on track.
The move brought down the strength of the House to 208, and the majority mark to 105 – the number which BJP has in the Assembly. The coalition could scrape up only 99 votes against the BJP’s 105.
Also Read: Sharad Pawar accuses BJP of using ED, CBI threatening netas to defect
As the numbers game favoured the BJP government in trust vote today, the Congress and JDS did not press for division on the one-line motion moved by Yediyurappa. The House expressed confidence in his three-day-old Ministry. Since the house did not press for division, Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar declared that the motion had been passed by a voice vote.
Yediyurappa had said he was confident of proving majority in the house. “On Monday, I will prove my majority 100%,” he told reporters in Bengaluru.
All the lawmakers have been disqualified from the assembly till the end of its term, which calls for by-elections in all 16 constituencies. The disqualified lawmakers said they would challenge the Speaker’s decision in the Supreme Court today.
Also Read: Black money detected from ‘group with political links’ across 13 premises
The BJP moved swiftly after the Speaker disqualified three lawmakers on Thursday, staking claim to form government and pushing for a trust vote today. State BJP chief BS Yediyurappa took charge of the government as the Chief Minister for the fourth time on Friday.
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Ramesh Bidhuri remarks row: BSP MP Danish Ali writes to PM Modi, calls for suitable punishment
Danish Ali asked PM Modi to make a public statement from his office condemning Bidhuri’s behaviour and reaffirming commitment towards maintaining the highest standards of parliamentary proceedings.
BSP MP Danish Ali who was targeted with derogatory remarks by BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri in Lok Sabha, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday seeking suitable punishment for Bidhuri. In the letter, the BSP MP also demanded enhanced security for himself.
He mentioned that the recent incident in the Lok Sabha during the special session of the Parliament was not just an attack on him as an individual but an attack on the very essence of democracy. Expressing grave concern over the incident, Danish Ali called on the Prime Minister as the Leader of the House and asked him to take note of the incident.
The BSP leader underlined that the situation has significantly worsened in the Parliament since September 21 and that it has cast a shadow over the parliamentary decorum and democratic functioning of the esteemed House of which he is privileged to be a member.
Acknowledging that PM Narendra Modi was not present during the incident, BSP MP claimed that Bidhuri used inappropriate language while referring to the Prime Minister during his address. He mentioned that he raised an objection to the use of such language in relation to the Prime Minister even if it was in a quotation.
Danish Ali further added that it was evident from the House proceedings that none of the members of the ruling party objected to his stance against the use of unparliamentary language directed to the Prime Minister. He elaborated that when he pointed out to Bidhuri’s use of unparliamentary language towards the Prime Minister, the BJP MP got rattled and reacted strongly, possibly realising his mistake.
In the letter, Ali also mentioned some of the objectionable and derogatory words that Bidhuri has used against him. In addition, Ali also said that members like BJP MP Nishikant Dubey have gone as far as to disseminate absolute falsehoods against him by claiming that he made certain remarks which provoked Bidhuri when it is clear that those remarks were made by the BJP lawmaker himself during his address.
BSP MP Danish Ali also made a series of demands to PM Modi through his letter. He asked the Prime Minister to make a public statement from his office condemning such behaviour and reaffirming the commitment towards maintaining the highest standards of parliamentary proceedings. Furthermore, he also demanded accountability to be fixed at the earliest on the reprehensible conduct of Bidhuri and called for suitable punishment.
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Amid AAP-Congress row in Punjab, Arvind Kejriwal says his party is committed to INDIA bloc
Congress Punjab unit accused the AAP government in the state of indulging in political vendetta
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Friday affirmed that his party is committed to supporting the INDIA Opposition bloc. He stated that his party will not part ways with the INDIA alliance. Kejriwal’s statement follows amidst a standoff between Aam Aadmi party and Congress in Punjab.
The rift between both the political parties erupted after the arrest of Punjab Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira on Thursday. The Punjab Congress leader was arrested from his Sector 5 house in Chandigarh in connection with a 2015 drugs case.
Apparently referring to the fall out, Arvind Kejriwal mentioned that the AAP is committed to the INDIA alliance and that they will not break away from the alliance. He added that they are committed to fulfilling the dharma of the alliance.
Meanwhile, Congress Punjab unit accused the AAP government in the state of indulging in political vendetta after the arrest of their leader. However, the AAP in Punjab has denied the allegation, mentioning that the action against the Bholath legislator was taken according to the law.
On being asked about no announcement on the seat sharing formula in the INDIA alliance, Arvind Kejriwal remarked that he hopes that it would be ready soon. Speaking about the opposition INDIA alliance not projecting a prime ministerial candidate yet, Arvind Kejriwal said that his aim is to empower every citizen and create a system where all 1.4 billion people of this country feel like they are the prime minister. He added that they need to empower the people and they don’t need to empower any one individual.
On being questioned about the drug menace, Arvind Kejriwal noted that yesterday he heard that the Punjab Police arrested a particular leader, Sukhpal Singh Khaira in connection with drugs but he doesn’t have the details regarding the matter. Nonetheless, he mentioned that the Bhagwant Mann government and the AAP government are committed to ending the drug menace and that nobody will be spared.
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AIADMK leader KP Munusamy says party will form new alliance after ending ties with BJP
KP Munusamy, a senior leader of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) said, the party will form a separate alliance for the upcoming elections.
KP Munusamy, a senior leader of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) said, the party will form a separate alliance for the upcoming elections. The Palaniswami’s party ended its tie with the BJP and withdrew its coalition with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) three days earlier.
According to reports, KP Munusamy further said that the party has not asked to remove K Annamalai, the BJP state president.
Speaking on the removal of the BJP party’s state president, Munusamy said that it is childish to even ask if such a large party like AIADMK would demand anything like that. The party will never commit a mistake like that, he added.
He further clarified that his party’s leaders are not someone who would tell another party how it should function.
Speaking on the relationship with NDA and joining the alliance in future, Munusamy said Stalin and his son Udhayanidhi are claiming that this is a drama.
Stalin and his son Udhayanidhi are only speaking in such a manner because they have a fear after we broke ties with BJP, the AIADMK leader said.
The AIADMK on September 25, announced that it is breaking the alliance with the BJP, ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The AIADMK unanimously passed a party resolution in this regard.
Announcing the decision, AIADMK deputy coordinator K P Munusamy said the BJP state leadership has been continuously making unnecessary remarks about their former leaders, their general secretary Edapaddi Palaniswami and their cadres for the past one year.
The decision to part ways follows months of speculation over the strained relationship between the AIADMK and the BJP. Notably, Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai had repeatedly commented against AIADMK leaders and that did not earn him any wrath as the BJP was seemingly fine with Annamalai’s assault on the AIADMK leadership.
Even though the AIADMK’s relationship with Annamalai had not been smooth for more than a year, the latter’s observations on DMK founder CN Annadurai, the AIADMK is a breakaway from the DMK and founded by MG Ramachandran after Annadurai’s death, for the last couple of weeks, had provoked the latest round of spat between the two parties.
