BS Yeddyurappa takes oath as Karnataka’s CM
BANGALURU/ NEW DELHI : The 75-year-old BS Yeddyurappa took oath as Chief Minister of Karnataka on Thursday, in the name of “God and farmers”, wearing a green shawl which has come to be known as a symbol of empathising with farmers.
Governor Vajubhai Vala administers the oath to him at the swearing-in ceremony held in the Glass House of the Raj Bhavan. Mr. Yeddyurappa is chief minister of Karnataka for the third time.
This follows a rare all-night hearing by the Supreme Court, when it refused to stay or postpone the swearing-in. A late-night petition filed by the Congress-JD(S) challenged the Governor’s decision to invite the BJP to form a government.
The BJP has 105 lawmakes, including an Independent, in comparison to the 117 lawmakers of the alliance in the 224-member assembly. Mr Yeddyurappa has 15 days to prove his majority. The court said while it is allowing the oath to proceed, it would be “subject to the outcome of the case”.
The New Chief Minister Yeddyurappa said that he would not wait for 15 days time given by Governor to prove the majority in the Asse mbly. “I will seek vote of confidence at the earliest,” he says. He added that he will waive farm loans as promised.
He said he has asked the chief secretary to study all the details on the issue. The decision on loan waiver will be announced by Friday, he added.The Congress-JDS combine is trying to grab power through “immoral” post-poll alliance, pti reported Mr. Yeddyurappa as saying.
“I am sure of winning vote of confidence. My government wil l complete 5 years,” he said, adding he sought the support of all legislators “to vote according to their conscience and uphold people’s mandate”.
Meanwhile, Former Prime Minister and veteran JD(S) leader H.D. Deve Gowda has joined the Congress protest in front of the Vidhana Soudha.Mr. Gowda first visited the JD(S) MLAs at the hotel where they are put up and then reached the Vidhan Soudha to express solidarity with the joint protest by Congress and JD(S).
Congress leader Siddaramaiah has said that the protest would continue till they get justice.Mr. Kumaraswamy claimed that the “missing MLAs” will be with us soon.
As Yeddyurappa took oath as Chief Minister, Congress President Rahul Gandhi took to twitter and described the entire course of events as the “defeat of democracy.” Congress president , speaking in Raipur, said there was an atmosphere of fear in the country. “Constitution under severe attack in the country. The BJP and the RSS are capturing every democratic institution in the country,” News Agency pti quotes him as saying.
BJP President Amit Shah, who did not attend the swearing-in ceremony, responded to Mr. Gandhi’s tweet saying, “The ‘Murder of Democracy’ happens the minute a desperate Congress made an ‘opportunist’ offer to the JD(S)”
“The BJP is pressurising Congress and JD(S) MLAs. Anand Singh was taken to Delhi in a chartered flight. He says he is being threatened with ED cases,” Mr. Kumaraswamy said.
He said, “Everyone in the country should join in this protest, including Chief Ministers like Chandrababu Naidu, Mamata Banerjee.”
Even as BJP party members celebrate outside the Raj Bhavan, senior leaders of the Congress, including Siddaramaiah and Ghulam Nabi Azad gathered at Gandhi statue outside Vidhan Soudha to protest the swearing-in of Mr. Yeddyurappa.
Karnataka returned a hung Assembly on May 15 with the BJP winning in 104 seats, Congress 78 and the JD(S) 37, from the 222 constituencies that went to the polls. In a dramatic turn of events, the Congress offered support to the JD(S), which was duly accepted by party leader H.D. Kumaraswamy. (With Agency Inputs ).
