BSY resigns, Kumaraswamy to take oath as KA CM tomorrow

BENGALURU: The three-day-old BJP government in Karnataka collapsed today as Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa quit minutes before he was to face a floor test to prove his contested majority in the hung assembly even JD(S) chief H D Kumaraswamy heading the coalition with Congress is set to become the chief minister for a second time on May 21.

Capping five days of riveting political and court-room drama, Yeddyurappa announced his decision to quit on the floor of the Assembly after a brief emotional speech rather than face a vote of confidence he was widely expected to lose.

"I will not face confidence vote....I am going to resign," he told the Assembly at the end of a brief emotional speech bringing the curtains down on his short-lived tenure, two days after he was sworn in.

"Till my last breath, I'll fight for the farmers. I'll give my life for people."

The 75-year-old Lingayat strongman then headed straight to the Raj Bhavan where he handed over his resignation to Governor Vajubhai Vala, a day after he was ordered by the Supreme Court to face a floor test at 4pm today after it drastically reduced the 15-day deadline set by the governor for him to prove his majority.

Yeddyurappa's previous two chief ministerial stints lasted seven days and three years.

Three hours later, Kumaraswamy, 58, drove to the Raj Bhavan for a meeting with the Governor.

Governor Vajubhai Vala today invited Kumaraswamy, who is the leader of Congress-JD(S) joint legislature party, to form the government.

"On the invitation of the Governor I have met him on the basis of the request we had submitted on May 15 for the formation of Congress-JD(S) coalition government....he has invited us to form the government," Kumaraswamy said.

Speaking to reporters after meeting Vala, he said the Governor has directed him to prove the majority on the floor of the House in 15 days but he would do it much before.

Kumaraswamy said the swearing-in ceremony would take place tentatively between 12 and 1.50 pm at Kanteerava stadium here.

The third son of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda had earlier headed the BJP-JD(S) coalition government for twenty months from January 2006.

Kumaraswamy said modalities relating to government formation and number of ministers, who will be taking oath, would be discussed tonight under the leadership of Ghulam Nabi Azad, and made public tomorrow.

He said the Congress and JD(S) would form a coordination committee on how to run a stable government and have mutual understanding so that it completes its full term.

Earlier, though claiming he was "100 per cent" sure about winning the trust vote but as the D-day loomed Yeddyurappa failed to muster support of 7 additional MLAs required to ensure the survival of his government. The BJP with 104 MLAs had emerged as the single largest party but fell short of a simple majority.

He was the lone person to be sworn in on Thursday just hours after the apex court refused to stay the ceremony during a dramatic midnight hearing on a petition moved by the Congress against the governor's invitation to the BJP.

The BJP put up a brave face after the resignation with union minister Prakash Javadekar saying the party knows how to "respect democracy" while the Congress, the AAP and other opposition parties said the saffron party's attempt to "subvert democracy" failed miserably. Javadekar also said the Congress was treating an electoral defeat as victory.

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar claimed that the new government would not last long as it was an "unholy nexus."

Buoyed by the turn of events in Karnataka, Congress president Rahul Gandhi hailed the unity shown by the Congress-JD(S) combine and said the opposition parties will work together to defeat the BJP.
At a news conference in Delhi, Gandhi launched a strong attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of authorising buying off MLAs and disrespecting institutions. Gandhi also said while Modi talks of fighting corruption, "he is corruption".

Gandhi also said he hoped that the BJP and the RSS would "learn lessons" from the political developments in the southern state.