Bengaluru, July 23 (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday submitted his resignation to Governor Vajubhai Vala shortly after losing the confidence motion in the Assembly.
Soon after the outcome, Kumaraswamy drove to the Raj Bhavan along with deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara and other senior colleagues and handed over the resignation, officials said.
“I hereby tender my resignation to the post of chief minister of Karnataka along with my cabinet and I request you to kindly accept the same.
I take this opportunity to extend grateful thanks for the cooperation given to me and my colleagues during the tenure,” the letter said.
In his letter to Kumaraswamy, the Governor said, “I have accepted the resignation tendered by you with immediate effect.
Until alternate arrangements are made, kindly continue as caretaker Chief Minister. It is needless to state that no executive decisions should be taken during this period.”
The confidence motion moved by Kumaraswamy was defeated with 99 voting in favour and 105 against it.
Lone BSP MLA in Karnataka expelled for voting against Kumaraswamy govt.
Bahujan Samaj Party National President Mayawati on Tuesday expelled lone party MLA N Mahesh in Karnataka for “violating” the party decision to vote infavour of the H D Kumaraswamy government that lost the trust vote in the assembly.
“By violating the party high command order to vote in favour of the Kumaraswamy government in Karnataka, BSP legislator N Mahesh was absent during the trust vote today, which isindiscipline and the party has considered it seriously,” the BSPsupremo said in a tweet in Hindi.
Mayawati on Sunday had directed Mahesh to vote infavour of the Kumaraswamy government, after he had said that he would skip the trust vote in the absence of any clearinstructions from the high command.
BSP had contested the May 2018 assembly polls in a tie-up with JD(S), which in a post-election understandingjoined hands with Congress to form the government following a fractured verdict.
Mahesh, the MLA from Kollegala, who was part of the Kumaraswamy cabinet as the Primary and Secondary Education Minister had in October 2018 quit his post citing personal reasons, but had said he would continue to support the ruling coalition.
Rebel MLAs seek four weeks time from Speaker on disqualification plea
The 15 rebel MLAs of the Congress and the JD(S) have sought four weeks’ time to appear before Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar in connection with the plea for their disqualification from the State Assembly.
“Yes, we have sought four weeks’ time from the speaker. We have approached the speaker through our advocate,” Hunsur JD(S) MLA A H Vishwanath told PTI.
In their letter, whose contents are identical, the disgruntled MLAs, 13 of whom are camping in a Mumbai hotel, said a petition has been filed under Schedule-10 of the Constitution, by the party, seeking their disqualification.
They added that they were not in receipt of the copy of the petition or the documents annexed to it.
Stating they have learnt that their presence has been sought by Wednesday, the MLAs reminded the speaker that at least seven days time should be given to present their case.
Citing the case of Balchandra L Jarkiholi versus B SYeddyurappa in 2011, they requested the speaker to grant them four weeks’ time.
The MLAs resigned threatening the existence of the coalition government of the Congress and the JD(S), compelling chief minister H D Kumaraswamy to seek the vote of confidence, which he lost.
The Congress and the JD(S) had sought disqualification of their rebel MLAs under the anti-defection law but they were not deterred by it and skipped the assembly proceedings during the crucial confidence vote on Tuesday.
