Kumaraswamy moves confidence motion in Karnataka Assembly
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy Thursday moved the confidence motion in the state Assembly with the 14-month old Congress-JDS government headed by him hanging by a thread after a rebellion by a section of ruling coalition lawmakers.
With the numbers stacked against the ruling coalition, Kumaraswamy moved a one-line motion, saying that the House expresses confidence in the ministry headed by him.
As soon as the motion was moved, opposition BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa stood up and said the trust vote process should be completed in a single day.
"The Leader of Opposition seems to be in a hurry," Kumaraswamy taunted Yeddyurappa.
BJP is reportedly apprehensive that the ruling coalition might try to get the debate prolonged as much as possible to buy time in its last ditch effort to shore up numbers before the voting is taken up.
Kumaraswamy insisted that doubts had been created about the Congress-JDS coalition and it had to be brought before the country. "We have to tell the truth," he said.
The trial of strength is taking place a day after the Supreme Court ruled that the 15 rebel Congress-JDS MLAs "ought not" to be compelled to participate in the proceedings of the ongoing session of the state Assembly.
The court verdict was interpreted in political circles as a relief for the rebel lawmakers, as it categorically said an option should be given to them as to whether they wanted to take part or stay out of the assembly proceedings.
The ruling coalition had held out the threat of using the Whip against the wayward MLAs, citing the disqualification provision under the anti-defection law.
Armed with the court order, the rebel Congress-JDS MLAs camping in Mumbai have said there was no question of stepping back on their resignations or attending the session.
As many as 16 MLAs -- 13 from the Congress and three from JDS -- have resigned, while independent MLAs R Shankar and H Nagesh have withdrawn their support to the coalition government, putting the Kumaraswamy-led government in jitters.
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.
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Comments on social media: SC grants anticipatory bail to folk singer Neha Singh Rathore
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted anticipatory bail to folk singer Neha Singh Rathore in a case filed against her over a social media post on last year's Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed.
A bench of justices JK Maheshwari and AS Chandurkar granted the relief to her after noting that she had appeared before the authorities and recorded her statements in connection with the case.
The top court asked her to continue cooperating in the investigation.
Rathore has challenged Allahabad High Court order of last year rejecting her plea for anticipatory bail in the case.
On January 7, the top court granted interim protection from arrest to Rathore in a case filed against her over the social media post.
The said comments allegedly targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the BJP in connection with the killing of 26 tourists in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir.
The top court had issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government and the complainant in the case, and said no coercive steps shall be taken against her.
It had directed Rathore to appear before the investigating officer and cooperate in the probe.
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on December 5 last year had rejected the anticipatory bail plea filed by the folk singer.
It had observed that Rathore had not cooperated with the investigation despite directions issued by an earlier bench that had dismissed her petition seeking quashing of the FIR.
The FIR against Rathore was registered at Hazratganj police station in Lucknow on April 27, and the investigation is underway.
The FIR accused Rathore of targeting a particular religious community and threatening the unity of the country. She challenged the FIR filed against her by one Abhay Pratap Singh at the Hazratganj Police Station in the last week of April. Singh accused Rathore of having "repeatedly attempted to incite one community against another on religious grounds".
Rathore contended in her plea that she had been wrongfully implicated under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including promoting communal hatred, disturbing public peace, and endangering the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India.
She also faces charges under the Information Technology Act.
