Karnataka: As Governor's 1:30 pm deadline ends, Speaker says 'can't force us for trust vote'

Karnataka Assembly defied Governor Vajubhai Vala's trust vote deadline and continued the session even after 1:30 pm. Karnataka Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar said that, “Unless the discussion is complete, you cannot press for division (of votes for floor test).” He also said that the onus lies with Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy as the Governor's order was sent to him, so he has to decide whether the order has to be followed or not.”

A day ahead of the trust vote, senior Congress lawmaker Ramalinga Reddy said he would withdraw his resignation, giving some relief to the ruling coalition. The ruling coalition's strength in the House is 117--Congress 78, JD(S) 37, BSP 1, and nominated 1, besides the Speaker. With the support of the two independents, the opposition BJP has 107 MLAs in the 225-member House, including the nominated MLA and Speaker.

If the resignations of the 15 MLAs (12 from Congress and 3 from JDS) are accepted, the ruling coalition's tally will plummet to 101, (excluding speaker) reducing the 14-month-old Kumaraswamy government to a minority.