Round 1 to CM Yeddyurappa
Cong, JD(S) launch protest, say he will be ‘oneday chief minister’
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader BS Yeddyurappa took oath as the 23rd chief minister of Karnataka at the Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru on Thursday morning, amid massive protests from the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) hours after the Supreme Court rejected their joint petition seeking a stay on the ceremony.
This is the third time that BSY, as he is popularly known, has taken over as the chief minister. In 2007, he ruled for seven days before the JD(S), which was the BJP’s coalition partner at the time, disagreed with the government over the sharing of ministries and withdrew support. In 2008, he again took over as the chief minister, but lasted only 39 months before he was arrested on corruption charges.
Wearing a green shawl that symbolises the farmers’ movement, Yeddyurappa took the oath in the name of god and farmers. Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala administered the oath in the presence of senior state BJP leaders and Union ministers and amid heavy police security.
Yeddyurappa, 75, takes over as the CM after two days of uncertainty since votes were counted on May 15. The BJP emerged as the single-largest party in the state with 104 seats but fell short of reaching the halfway mark of 112 in the assembly. The Congress and the JD(S) joined hands in the hours that followed, and approached the governor with a request to let them form the next government in the state with HD Kumaraswamy as the CM. They also submitted a letter with the signatures of 116 legislators to Vala.
Yeddyurappa, too, staked claim shortly after. And on Wednesday night, Vala invited Yeddyurappa to form the government in the state, prompting the Congress to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court. While the apex court did not dismiss the petition, it permitted Yeddyurappa to take oath as the chief minister. It will hear the Congress’s plea at 10.30am on Friday. Vala has given Yeddyurappa 15 days to prove his majority on the floor of the house. Some analysts fear that the BJP will use this period to convince legislators of the Congress and the JD(S) to abstain from voting.
Addressing a press conference after being sworn in, Yeddyurappa said he would not take 15 days, but would prove his majority soon.
The Congress plans to protest against Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala’s invitation to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form the government and the swearing -in of BS Yeddyurappa as chief minister by observing Friday as ‘Save Democracy Day.’
The party plans to hold demonstrations across the country, and even stake a claim to forming the government in Goa, where it emerged as the single largest party in the 2017 elections, but was trumped by a BJP-led alliance.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) said it would stake a claim to forming government in Bihar on the same grounds as the BJP — that it had emerged as the single largest party in the 2015 elections.
In Karnataka, the BJP, with 104 seats in an assembly with an effective strength of 222, eight short of a majority, staked its claim to forming a government and was invited by the governor
to do so, ahead of a Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) combine which has 116 seats. The governor also gave the BJP’s Yeddyurappa a fortnight to prove his majority on the floor of the house. The Congress petitioned the Supreme Court, which will hear the matter on Friday.
“I along with RJD and Congress legislators would meet Governor Satyapal Malik at 1 pm on Friday and stake claim to form the government in Bihar,” RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav told reporters in Patna. “If Yeddyurappa got a chance to form the government in Karnataka, why is the RJD being deprived? Why are there two yardsticks for Karnataka and Bihar?” he asked.
BJP spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain mocked the young RJD leader’s outburst, advising him to go among the people and gauge the “declining” popularity of his party instead of wasting his own time as well as that of the Governor. He also described the Congress decision to back the JD(S) in Karnataka as an opportunistic move, aimed at achieving power
through back door.
In the 2015 assembly elections in Bihar, the RJD emerged as the single-largest party with 80 seats. In the 243-member House, the Janata Dal (United) of chief minister Nitish Kumar has 70 legislators followed by the BJP with 53. The Congress’ strength stands at 27. The RJD formed a coalition government with the Congress and Janata Dal (United) after the 2015 elections. Last year, Kumar
parted ways with his coalition partners and formed a government with the BJP. Analysts said the Congress protest in Goa and the RJD’s in Bihar were both unlikely to achieve much more than making a point because the ruling alliances in both states have proven their majority.
In Goa, Congress legislators led by Chandrakant Kavlekar will meet Governor Mridula Sinha on Friday and stake a claim to forming the government. A formal letter containing signatures of all the 16 Congress legislators will also be submitted to the Governor.
In the assembly elections last year, the Congress bagged 17 seats in the 40-member House.
The BJP, which got 14 seats, formed the government in alliance with the Goa Forward Party and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, both of which had secured three seats each. Three Independents also went with the BJP. The Congress didn’t stake its claim then.
The Congress party’s Goa in-charge Chella Kumar has been
rushed to Panaji to supervise the move.
Giving details about the Friday protests, Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala told reporters that senior party leaders and workers would protest against the Karnataka Governor’s move in different parts of the country.
Yadav alleged that the present situation in the country was worse than during the Emergency days in the mid-1970s and called upon all the opposition forces to unite in the fight against the BJP’s “arm-twisting methods to usurp” power.
“All opposition parties should stage a demonstration in Bengaluru against the unconstitutional method adopted to allow the BJP to form government in Karnataka,” he said. “The BJP is using all unconstitutional methods to form government by throttling democracy and misusing agencies, be it the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation), Enforcement Directorate or income tax department to intimidate rivals.” With PTI inputs