Shankarmurthy aces floor test; Cong falls flat on its face
- Major face loss for Congress in the Legislative Council floor test
- JD(S) and two Independents save the day for BJP and its leader D H Shankarmurthy
- The ruling party loses by one vote. While it had 36 votes, the BJP-JD(S) combine had 37 votes
- Independents Basanagouda Patil Yatnal and D U Mallikarjun stay loyal to BJP; Vivek Rao Patil, M D Lakshminarayana and Byrathi Suresh vote in favour of Congress
- Congress makes last ditch attempt at luring JD(S) before the floor test; it agrees to JD(S)’s terms.
- CM Siddaramaiah speaks to H D Deve Gowda over phone and requests support
- Gowda lets Kumaraswamy take the final call; leaves for Vaishnodevi
- Before floor test Congress MLC V S Ugrappa accuses Shankarmurthy of indulging in corruption; Shankarmurthy defends himself
- JD(S) has clarified that its marriage with BJP is only in the Council
FollowAfter a 24-hour high voltage drama, BJP leader D H Shankarmurthy heaved a huge sigh of relief -- he gets to continue as the Legislative Council Chairman. The JD(S) which had kept both the BJP and Congress on tenterhooks, gave a nail biting finish to the race to the Council Chairman post on Thursday.
By coming to Shankarmurthy’s aid, it not only saved him from being ousted from the post he has held for the last seven years, it also managed to extract an assurance from the BJP. As per the agreement, Shankamurthy should step down from the Chair in a couple of months, to make way for JD(S) MLC Basavaraj Horatti.
The ruling party however suffered a humiliating defeat, despite its last ditch attempt at luring the JD(S). The no-confidence motion moved by the Congress against Shankarmuthy, was put for voting after the Question Hour and the Zero Hour.
While 36 members stood up in support of the Congress’s motion, as many as 37 members voted against it, immediately binging cheer to the BJP camp. In the 75 member House, the magic number required to win the floor test was 37. Once Deputy Chairman Marithibbegowda (JD(S) MLC) announced that the results, a beaming Shankarmurthy was congratulated by his BJP colleagues.But on the opposite camp, Congress MLC V S Ugrappa, who was the brain behind the no-confidence motion exercise, was admonished in the open by the party leaders.
The Congress, which had submitted a notice seeking the removal of Shankarmurthy on May 30, moved a no-confidence motion against him on June 13. After admitting the motion, an anguished Shankarmurthy had expressed his discontent over the Congress’s move. He had however sounded confident about staying on as the Chairman with the JD(S) support.
The Congress, with its 33 MLCs too had thought that it could bag the Chair with the support of the JD(S) and three Independents. While the BJP has 23 MLCs (including Shankarmurthy), the JD(S) has 13 members in the House. While there are five Independent members, one seat is vacant owing to the demise of BJP MLC Vimala Gowda.
The Congress’s attempts at appeasing the JD(S) were however half hearted, especially after the regional party demanded that its MLC Basavaraj Horatti be made the chairman. The ruling party was in no mood to play ball. Subsequently, the JD(S) sent out feelers that it would support the BJP. Even then, the Congress made no attempts at negotiations. However, a few hours before the floor test, the Congress had a change of heart.
Also Read: http://newsable.asianetnews.tv/karnataka/jds-to-support-bjp-during-floor-test-in-council-hints-hdk
On Thursday early morning, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda over phone and indicated that his party would agree to JD(S)’s terms. KPCC president and Home Minister G Parameshwara too announced the same before the House proceedings began. He said that the secular forces should come together on ideological grounds.
The JD(S) however remained skeptical. After two closed door meetings, it came out announcing its support for the BJP. It also expressing its irritation over Congress’s “last minute” overtures. It’s MLC T A Sharavana scoffed that the Congress had bought a ticket to a train which it had already missed.
JD(S) president H D Kumaraswamy said that the Congress had remained indifferent until the last minute.
“If the Congress wanted the secular forces to stay together, then why didn’t it take JD(S) into confidence before moving the no-confidence motion? The Congress is trying to meddle with the JD(S) at this juncture, but we will continue our support to the BJP. Horatti, who was in the running for the post, too is in agreement with the party’s decision,” he said, adding that the truck with BJP should not be considered as a pre-poll alliance for the next Assembly elections. He also said that the BJP had assured to make Horatti the Chairman in two months.
After the floor test, Siddaramaiah said that the defeat was not a setback for the Congress. “The Congress was certain of JD(S)’s support. But the party has aided communalism. If the JD(S) does not want to join hands with a secular party, there’s little that we can do. Both Parameshwara and I had reached out to Deve Gowda,” added Siddaramaiah.
