BENGALURU: The Karnataka Legislative Assembly convened in time on Thursday. There was only one issue listed on the agenda for the day.
The Speaker called for the leader of the House and Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy who even moved the confidence motion, but the process of trust vote was stalled right there.
The anticipation of a floor test ended in uproar, ruckus, name-calling, sloganeering and finally a decision by the BJP to stage protest overnight. As if playing their assigned roles to the 'T', leaders of the coalition first stalled Kumaraswamy's speech on the confidence motion, then raised a point of order, questioning the judiciary's infringement on the rights of the House and then dragged the discussion on BJP "kidnapping" MLAs before unleashing absolute mayhem in the form of uproar against the saffron party in the Assembly.
An unusually calm and composed BJP side, which was keen on not biting the coalition's bait, sat unperturbed, occasionally rising to make their point and quickly regaining their composure. All hell broke loose when the coalition sought to defer the trust vote with BJP insisting that the floor test be conducted immediately.
A stormy session ended with the House being adjourned to Friday, but the BJP chose to stage an overnight protest by staying back in the Assembly hall.
"Today, all the procedures and rules governing the confidence motion, moved by the chief minister, have been thrown to the winds. We are demanding to vote on the motion. The CM is reluctant to take up the motion as he has lost the confidence of the House and the people. We will continue to press our demand for voting on the motion and we will hold an all-night dharna in the House," BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa declared.
With the coalition bent on holding up till the very end and the BJP vehemently pushing for a floor test, a stormy session is expected on Friday as well, especially after Governor Vajubhai Vala wrote to the CM later in the evening directing him to prove majority on the floor of the House by 1.30 pm on Friday.
The House was adjourned and reconvened thrice between 11.15 am and 6.19 pm with the debate on the motion of confidence barely beginning. Governor Vajubhai Vala's message asking Speaker Ramesh Kumar to conclude the proceedings by the end of day on Thursday only led to more ruckus in the already tense House.
Kumaraswamy's speech on his confidence motion was tactfully stalled by Congress legislature party chief Siddaramaiah. He insisted that the Supreme Court's order giving discretion to the 15 rebel MLAs on whether to attend the proceedings or not was a breach of his privilege to issue whip under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution. The point of order raised by Siddaramaiah, later backed by Congress' HK Patil and Krishna Byre Gowda, snowballed into a war of words between the BJP and the coalition.
"As legislature party leader, I have the right to issue whip and MLAs who have taken B-form from Congress and have won elections are bound by it. The recent SC order seems to be infringing on my privileges," Siddaramaiah said.
If Siddaramaiah and Krishna Byre Gowda were the coalition's designated strikers, DK Shivakumar took on the role of disruptor-in-chief. All three times that Shivakumar stood up to talk were only to accuse the BJP of "kidnapping" coalition MLAs, calling the saffron party leaders thieves and seeking "protection" for coalition MLAs. He raised the issue of Kagwad MLA Shrimant Patil's sudden disappearance from the resort where Congress leaders were holed up and reappearance in a Mumbai hospital.
"Our MLAs are being kidnapped. BJP has forcefully taken him to Mumbai and is now staging a drama that he is unwell and hence can't attend the House," Shivakumar alleged, distributing enlarged photos of Patil lying on a supposed hospital bed.
In the House of 225 members, including the nominated Anglo-Indian MLA, 18 MLAs of the coalition, including the lone BSP MLA N Mahesh, were absent while BJP was in full attendance with 105 legislators. The two independent MLAs also skipped the session.
With the question of whether the Supreme Court order infringes on the privileges of the House, the Speaker and the coalition's right to issue a whip hogging the limelight, the BJP's push for the trust vote immediately was overlooked.
"It is becoming extensively clear that this government is doing everything it can to delay the floor test because they know they will lose and go home. They are digressing from the topic," BJP leader Jagadish Shettar said, a point that was reiterated several times by the opposition.
With Congress insisting that it will approach the Apex Court for clarity on the whip issued to rebel MLAs, amid the ruckus by coalition MLAs, the House was adjourned to Friday without even as much as a debate on the motion of confidence.