Drama before Karnataka trust vote: BJP, Congress workers clash over 2 independents

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Jul 23, 2019 : Supporters of the Congress and the BJP came to blows as the workers ruling coalition attempted to take away two Independents to the state assembly ahead of the trust vote that the government is facing. The two, who were supporting the alliance government of the Congress and HD Kumaraswamy has switched sides and are expected to vote for the BJP in the test of strength that’s expected to happen this evening, NDTV reported.

 

The two were kept at a house at Bengaluru’s Race Course Road near the Vidhan Soudha. This afternoon, how many Congress workers had reached the spot to take them away and force them to vote for the coalition.

But the BJP workers stationed at the spot intervened and the two groups came to blows. Eventually, the police came and put an end to the scuffle.

The Congress has alleged that the BJP is bribing or coercing its lawmakers to bring down the government. The trust vote has been pending since last week as 13 lawmakers from the Congress and three from HD Kumaraswamy’s Janata Dal Secular walked out over a fortnight.

Given the delay, the two legislators had appealed to the Supreme Court to order a floor test. The Supreme Court said if the floor test is not held today, it would hear the plea.

The vote is expected to be held today -- Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar has given a 6pm deadline.

The coalition had 118 members in the 224-member assembly. If the resignations of the 15 legislators who approached the Supreme Court are accepted, the government will be left with 101 members. With the support of the two independents, the opposition BJP has 107 legislators, which is two more than the majority mark of 105.