Amidst the drama ensuing down south in Karnataka, the person who ideally should be the keenest to sort the inconsistencies in a quick manner is somehow the one delaying the procedure. CM HD Kumaraswamy had stated that he cannot act on the governor’s direction to complete the trust vote process before 1:30 pm on Friday.
Though he seems quite sure of winning the trust vote, the leader wants to delay the process till Tuesday, and a few have come out wondering why. Kumaraswamy is insisting that the speaker give a chance to members of the House to speak and discuss till Monday. This plea has effectively been rejected by the speaker.
Reports have now come out enlightening the strange proposition. According to JD(S) sources, “JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda’s family, including his CM-son Kumaraswamy and minister-son HD Revanna, have been performing special prayers for the government’s survival. They have consulted priests and astrologers who have said the government will survive if the crucial trust vote is deferred till Tuesday evening.”
Essentially, this conveys that the reason Kumaraswamy is delaying the trust vote, in spite of the governor’s and the speaker’s order; is due to his superstitions.
15 MLAs from the JD(S)-Congress alliance have resigned from the assembly. Previously, the Congress-JD(S) alliance boasted 118 MLAs {78(Congress)+ 37(JDS) + 1(BSP) +1(IND) + 1(nominated)} in the Assembly where the total number is 225, including the speaker and a nominated member from the Anglo-Indian community. The resignation of 15 MLAs brings down the total number in the assembly at 209, excluding the Speaker. As such, the resignation also brings down the majority mark to 105.
The resignation of 15 MLAs effectively makes it impossible for the Kumaraswamy government to continue in the trust vote with just 103 MLAs on its side. Currently, BJP has 105 MLAs (1 added after by-poll victory in Chincholi in Kalaburagi) in the assembly and is also supported by the lone MLA of KPJP bringing BJP+ to 106. That essentially puts BJP in the majority position at this stage.
However, a floor test is the democratic way to go about things and has been ordered by the Supreme Court. Seeing as Kumaraswamy has no choice in the matter, he has resorted to his superstitions. There is nothing wrong in praying or invoking the holy power but to actually stop the functioning of the entire state for this is unthinkable. More so than that, having such blind faith on the word of a priest that is unbecoming of an able leader. The assembly and the court takes into account valid reasons for the delay in a democratic procedure and quite frankly, Kumaraswamy’s astrologer just isn’t one.
