Karnataka Verdict Fallout: Supreme Court Hears Congress-JD(S)' Midnight Plea, Refuses to Stay BS Yeddyurappa's Swearing-In
The Supreme Court began hearing the petition at 1:45 am. After nearly three hours of hearing, it refrained from staying the oath-taking ceremony of BS Yeddyurappa in Karnataka.
Bengaluru, May 17: The attempt by Congress-JD(S) to place judicial hurdles before BS Yeddyurappa's swearing-in has failed to yield results as the Supreme Court, post a midnight hearing, refused to stay the oath-taking ceremony of Yeddyurappa as the Chief Minister of Karnataka.
The apex court was petitioned by senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi late on Wednesday, seeking a stay on the swearing-in of Yeddyurappa. The top court contended to the seriousness of the plea, agreeing to hear the case from 1:45 am in the midnight.
Although the bench declined to stay the swearing-in, it said the matter has "not been dismissed". "This petition is a subject of hearing later on," the court added.
With no immediate objection raised by the Supreme Court, Yeddyurappa will take oath as the CM at 9:00 am in Bengaluru.
The matter reached the apex court after the Karnataka Raj Bhavan issued a statement late on Monday confirming the invitation issued to Yeddyurappa to form the next government in the state. Governor Vajubhai Vala, in the statement, said Yeddyurappa would be provided a time-period of 15 days to prove his majority in the House.
The JD(S) and Congress, who have inked a post-poll pact, charged the Governor of acting in an unconstitutional manner. "Since we have the support of 117 MLAs, which is five more than the halfway majority mark, he (Governor) should had invited us to form the next government," he said.
"Is the 15-day time period being given for horse-trading," questioned JD(S) state unit chief and prospective chief minister HD Kumaraswamy. "My MLAs were offered Rs 100 crore today. Yet they didn't switch. But the question is: From where is the BJP getting this huge an amount to poach legislators?"
BJP, however, denied the charge of horse-trading, claiming the disgruntled members of the JD(S) and Congress have come forward to switchover. "After cursing each others for 10 years, the JD(S)-Congress alliance has disillusioned their party MLAs. We will have no problem in proving the majority in the assembly," said senior BJP leader and Union Minister Prakash Javadekar.
The BJP had won 104 seats in the elections held last week in Karnataka. The party is 8-legislator short of proving its majority in the House.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 17, 2018 05:13 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).