Governor directs Kumaraswamy to prove majority in Assembly by 1.30 p.m. Tomorrow
Bengaluru, July 18: Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala Thursday asked Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy to prove his majority in the state assembly before 1.30 pm Friday, observing that resignation of 15 ruling combine MLAs and withdrawal of support by two independents "prima facie" indicated he has lost the confidence of the House.
He gave the time-line while taking note of the adjournment of the House till Friday after it took up the confidence motion moved by Kumaraswamy in the backdrop of rebellion by a section of ruling Congress-JDS.
"Though a message as contemplated under article 175 (2) is sent to the Speaker, I'm informed that the House is adjourned today. Under these circumstances, I request you to prove your majority on the floor of the House on or before 1:30 PM tomorrow (Friday)," Vala has said in a letter to Kumaraswamy.
He said the resignation of 15 Congress and JDS MLAs and two independents withdrawing their support to the government and other circumstances do "prima facie" indicate that Chief Minister has last majority or confidence of the House.
"In my capacity as the head of the state I had not intervened on the matter having regard to the fact that the House was called and Trust vote has been moved.
"However, it has been reported to me that the proceedings of the House today for vote of confidence has been stalled and consequently adjourned without reaching any finality. This cannot go on in a democratic set up governed by the constitution of India," the governor said in his letter, copies of which were made available to media.
Minister in the Kumaraswamy cabinet D K Shivakumar confirmed receipt of the Governor's letter to Chief Minister.
"The Speaker is conducting the House, he will have to give MLAs an opportunity to discuss, at such time from BJP friends are trying to put pressure through the Governor's office," he said.
Vala earlier in the day asked Assembly speaker K R Ramesh Kumar to complete the process of vote of confidence moved by the chief minister by the end of the day.
His message to Kumar came after a delegation of opposition BJP leaders called on him and requested him to direct the speaker to conduct the vote of confidence Thursday itself, amid fears by the party that the ruling coalition was trying to prolong the debate and buy time to shore up numbers.
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Four of family killed as car jumps divider on highway in Gujarat's Panchmahal
Godhra (Gujarat) (PTI): Four members of a family were killed, and one sustained grievous injuries after their speeding car jumped a divider on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway corridor in Gujarat's Panchmahal district on Monday, police said.
The car driver lost control of the wheels near Kalol. As a result, the four-wheeler jumped the divider and veered off to the other side of the highway, an official from Kalol police station said.
Soon after the accident, some locals rushed to the scene and also alerted the police. Efforts were made to pull out the people trapped in the car.
Four persons died on the spot, while one suffered injuries, the official said.
The deceased were members of a family from Vadodara and were returning from Rajasthan when the tragedy struck, the official said.
They have been identified as Sajid Iqbal Khinji (55), Ilyas Iqbal Khinji (50), Ishaq Iqbal Khinji (48) and Rehan Azgar Khinji (35).
