Floor test
However, keeping the circumstances in mind, the court thought it fit to order the floor test “without any delay”.
The court directed the director general of police of Karnataka to ensure law and order and asked Yeddyurappa, who was sworn in on Thursday, not to take any policy decisions until the floor test is completed.
The court said that no Anglo-Indian member would be nominated to the assembly until after the test.
“Anyway, he may not have the time for other major policy decisions. He will be busy with other things,” Justice Sikri said, adding a touch of humour to the proceedings. The judge also referred to a joke circulating on WhatsApp about a resort owner claiming to have a majority to form the government in Karnataka -- a reference to the practice of political parties huddling their members in resorts to prevent poaching by rivals .
At the beginning of the hearing, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Yeddyurappa, produced two letters, dated May 15 and 16. In one, Yeddyurappa said he had the numbers to form a government, but did not disclose the names of the other members supporting the BJP’s claim. “There is no requirement for us to declare names of those in these two parties {Congress and Janata Dal (Secular)} who support us,” argued Rohatgi. “There is an atmosphere of apprehension. MLAs have been taken to resorts...We fear they (MLAs) are not being allowed to vote according to their conscience.”
In one of the letters, Yeddyurappa wrote that he was confident that he would be able to prove “my majority on the floor of the house and provide a stable government.” “I have the support of others and requisite majority. Hence, I humbly request your Excellency to invite me to form the government,” he wrote.
For the petitioners, Congress leader and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the question was whether it was fair on the part of the governor of Karnataka “to call someone with fewer numbers” to form a government. “Look at the intent (of the governor) to give 15 days after inviting A for B or B for C,” said Singhvi.
Rohatgi raised doubts about the letter that Congress had submitted to the governor, claiming to have the numbers to form a government. He said it hadn’t been signed by all those whose support the Congress-JD(S) combine claims to have. Singhvi rebutted this.
Attorney General K K Venugopal’s request to consider a secret ballot was rejected. Venugopal was representing the Centre . All members of the legislative assembly must take the oath before 4 pm, the court said. Rohatgi agreed to the floor test but questioned the urgency. “Why have it tomorrow? Why not on Monday? I have to get my flock together and also CongressJD-S MLAs are not there. Even they need time to come,” Rohatgi told the court.
But the judges were in no mood to delay the floor test. “Whoever is called, whichever party, final decision may be taken on the floor of the House,” said Justice Bobde. Justice Sikri added, “We will not compromise on this.”
Describing the present scenario as “a number game”, Justice Sikri said, “The situation is, on one hand, that there is a party which has given names and other simply claims it has support. How do we decide? Sarkaria says largest party (be invited to form the government).”
Sikri ranked pre- and postpoll alliances in terms of their relative legitimacy. “If there is a pre-poll alliance, it is highest. Rationale being that voters know. So as far as post-poll alliances are concerned, it is kept below largest party because voters didn’t know they would come together,” he said, reiterating that a majority must be proven on the floor of the House.
The court also issued formal notices to Yeddyurappa and the Centre on the petition and said the larger legal issue raised over a governor’s discretionary power would be taken up after 10 weeks.
“It is a historic interim order by the apex court of the country. It is historic because directly, with this degree of specificity it is raised for the first time, the extent of rights and discretion of the governor to call ‘A’ or ‘B’ for government formation immediately after the elections,” Singhvi told reporters.
The Congress-JD (S) again approached the Supreme Court late on Friday, challenging Bopaiah’s appointment as the pro-tem speaker. The petition argued that the governor’s decision was against the settled convention of appointing the seniormost MLA as the pro-tem speaker, and was a move to manipulate voting on the trust motion. Congress MLA RV Deshpande is at present the senior-most MLA, having been elected eight times. BJP leader and Union minister Prakash Javadekar defended the choice: “KG Bopaiah was appointed as pro-tem speaker even in 2008 by the then governor. That time, Bopaiah was 10 years younger than he is today. Congress is thus raising a hoax objection.”
Meanwhile, newly elected legislators of the Congress and JD (S), camping at different locations in Hyderabad since Friday morning, are expected to return to Bengaluru to take part in the floor test. JD(S) legislator GT Deve Gowda told reporters that all the MLAs of his party and the Congress were united and would not succumb to any pressures from the BJP. “Let them offer ~100 crore or ~200 crore each. But we are all united. None of us is ready to take the bait. We are leaving for Bengaluru today evening or tomorrow morning,” he said. “We have used six buses while MLAs were occupying only three. Remaining are decoys,” a senior Telangana Congress leader said.