Bangalore: Governor 'no' draws BJP ire
Bangalore, Jun 1: "It is not a right move. We expected the governor to convene a joint session of both the Houses of legislature and address the members. But he has insisted that we prove our majority first," president of the State unit of the BJP D V Sadananda Gowda said...
Relations between the new B S Yeddyurappa government and the Raj Bhavan appear to have begun on a strained note.
Governor Rameshwar Thakur’s stand that he would deliver the address to a joint session of the legislature only after Yeddyurappa proves his majority on the floor of the Assembly has drawn the wrath of the ruling party.
“It is not a right move. We expected the governor to convene a joint session of both the Houses of legislature and address the members. But he has insisted that we prove our majority first,” president of the State unit of the BJP D V Sadananda Gowda told reporters here on Saturday.
A BJP delegation led by Chief Minister Yeddyurappa met Thakur on Friday to invite him to address the joint session.
The difference
The new government wanted a three-day legislature session to be convened from June 4. It wanted the governor to address a joint session of both the Houses first, before it could seek a vote of confidence in the Assembly. However, the governor asked the party to prove its majority in the House as it had not won a majority on its own. He would then address the joint session, Thakur told the BJP leaders.
According to Gowda, the governor was bound by the Constitution, which made it mandatory for him to address the joint session whenever a new government was installed or on the first day of the first session during a year. The vote of confidence would come next.
The BJP delegation sought to impress upon the governor the fact that it had already placed before him the resolution of the 110-member strong BJPLP unanimously electing Yeddyurappa as their leader.
Besides, the party had paraded before the governor the five independents who had pledged their support to the government. With the support of the independents, the government had crossed the magic number of 113 for a majority in the House, it was pointed out.
The new government had planned to complete the formality of the joint address during the three-day session starting on June 4.
The government also had plans to convene a session to present a full-fledged budget in July.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has not been on the best of terms with the governor since November last and through the seven-month President’s rule. The party had accused the governor of acting as an “agent” of the Congress running the State as per the dictates of party leaders.
What statute says
The relevant law, Article 176 of the Constitution, says thus:
Special address by the governor.—(1) At the commencement of the first session after each general election to the legislative assembly and at the commencement of the first session of each year, the governor shall address the legislative assembly or, in the case of a state having a legislative council, both Houses assembled together and inform the legislature of the causes of its summons. Legal eagles too were divided in their opinion on the issue.
While some said the governor’s move was unconstitutional and that there was no such precedence in Karnataka’s political history, others said Thakur was right.
Former Advocate General R N Narasimhamurthy seconded the governor’s stand, saying “substantial compliance of Article 176 demands that the joint session be convened only after the BJP government proves its majority on the floor.
The BJP is not a single party enjoying the requisite majority, but is supported by MLAs from outside”. However, High Court advocate Subramanya Jois differed: “It is not illegal or unconstitutional to have called the Assembly session alone, but improper in the light of conventions.
As Yeddyurappa had presented written consent from the requisite number of MLAs, there was no need for the vote of confidence.”
If A B Vajpayee’s case in 1998 is anything to go by, the governor can address the joint session before Yeddyurappa faces the trust vote.
The then President K R Narayanan, who set a series of precedents in coalition governance in the country, invited Vajpayee, the leader of the single largest party (BJP) to form the government only after he secured the letters of support from the parties supporting him.
Vajpayee convened the first session of Parliament on March 23. As the Constitution required the President to address a joint sitting of Parliament in the first session, Narayanan addressed the joint session even before Vajpayee secured the trust vote in the Lok Sabha.
SESSION ON JUNE 4&5
The Governor has called a session of the Legislative Assembly on June 4 and 5 under Article 174 of the Constitution to facilitate oath and affirmation of the newly elected MLAs and election of the new Speaker, reports DHNS from Bangalore. According to a notification issued by the department of parliamentary affairs on Saturday, the session will begin at 10 am on Wednesday and the new Speaker will be elected the next day. Virajpet MLA K G Bopaiah has been appointed pro tem speaker. Bopaiah is likely to be administered the oath of office on Monday. However, the session agenda has no mention of the trust vote that the Yeddyurappa government has to seek.
A BUSY CHIEF MINISTER
The day after he became the CM, B S Yeddyurappa was a busy man. His house in Bangalore was flooded with visitors. He received hundreds of memoranda. There was non-stop supply of lunch, snacks and coffee/tea to the vistors. The new CM told the visiting crowd that they should get in touch with him directly when they have problems.
BJP's Journey to Power: