2019 Karnataka political crisis

In July 2019, several government members of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in India submitted their resignations to the speaker, which led to the fall of the then United Progressive Alliance government in Karnataka.[1][2]

Background

In 2018 elections to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, the BJP won the most seats—104,[3] but the Congress Party (INC) and Janata Dal (Secular) formed a coalition government with 120 out of 224 seats.[4] In the 2019 general election the BJP-led NDA won 26 out of 28 seats in Karnataka[5] while the INC-led UPA won two.

Resignations

On 1 July, two members, Ramesh Jarkiholi and Anand Singh of the INC, submitted their resignations.[2] Over the next few days, 10 Congress and 3 JD(S) MLAs resigned.[6]

The reaction of the coalition government was to attempt to convince the MLAs who had submitted their resignations to rescind them.[6] Many of the MLAs fled to Mumbai, and directed the police not to permit Congress leaders to meet them.[6] The government also attempted to induce the MLAs to return by offering them cabinet posts; all 21 Congress ministers resigned on 8 July to ensure that a sufficient number of ministerial berths were available.[7] It also requested that the speaker should disqualify those who had resigned under anti-defection legislation.[8]

The speaker, K.R. Ramesh Kumar, did not immediately accept the resignations, on the grounds that he was constitutionally obliged to scrutinise them.[9] Consequently, some of those who had submitted their resignations approached the Supreme Court, which on 12 July agreed to hear the case on 16 July, whilst ordering the speaker not to disqualify any lawmakers or take any other action in this connection.[10]

At the 16 July hearing, Mukul Rohatgi, counsel for the MLAs who had submitted their resignations, said that the speaker should be ordered to rule immediately on the resignations.[11] Rohatgi argued that disqualification was a "mini-trial", and so a decision on the resignations should take priority over one on disqualification.[11] Rajeev Dhavan, who appeared for the Chief Minister of Karnataka, argued that the MLAs never met the speaker, and so the speaker should rule on their disqualifications first.[12] Ranjan Gogoi, the Chief Justice, said that the court would have to balance two competing claims: first, the excuse of resignation could not be used to circumvent anti-defection measures; but, second, claims of defection should not be used to prevent resignation.[12] He also said that the court would have to consider the extent to which it is permitted to issue directions to holders of other constitutional posts, such as that of the speaker of the assembly.[11]

Members responsible for the Crisis

14 INC and 3 JD(S) MLAs were responsible for the political crisis. 1 KPJP MLA also left the coalition government. After some days, one of the legislator from INC, Ramalinga Reddy, withdrew his resignation.

List of members who took back resignation
SI No. Constituency Member Party
1. BTM Layout Ramalinga Reddy Indian National Congress

List of Disqualified Members
S.No Constituency Member Party
1. Kagawad Shrimant Balasaheb Patil Indian National Congress
2. Krishnarajapuram Byrati Basavaraj
3. Rajarajeshwari Nagar Munirathna
4. Yeshvanthapura S. T. Somashekhar
5. Gokak Ramesh Jarkiholi
6. Shivajinagar R. Roshan Baig
7. Vijayanagara Anand Singh
8. Hoskote M. T. B. Nagaraju
9. Hirekerur B. C. Patil
10. Athani Mahesh Kumathalli
11. Maski (ST) Pratap Gowda Patil
12. Chikkaballapur Dr. K. Sudhakar
13. Yellapur Arbail Shivaram Hebbar
14. Mahalakshmi Layout K. Gopalaiah Janata Dal (Secular)
15. Krishnarajpet Narayana Gowda
16. Hunsur Adagur H. Vishwanath
17. Ranebennur R. Shankar Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party

Reaction and conclusion

Congress members in the Rajya Sabha forced adjournments twice in protest,[13] alleging bribery on the part of the BJP.[14] The BJP demanded that the government should resign.[15]

Eventually the Congress-JD(S) coalition was reduced to 101 seats, whilst the BJP retained 105. After 3 weeks of turmoil, HD Kumarasamy lost a trust vote by 99-105 in the house (held on 23 July 2019) and resigned. On 26 July 2019, B.S. Yediyurappa was sworn in as Chief Minister of Karnataka once again.

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References
  1. Gowda, Aravind (5 July 2019). "Rebel-rousing in the Congress". India Today. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  2. "Karnataka crisis: Congress steps up efforts to persuade MLA to withdraw resignation from assembly". Times of India. Press Trust of India. 14 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  3. "Who should get first call to form govt in Karnataka? Jury's out". Times of India. TNN (Times News Network). 16 May 2018.
  4. "From results to resort politics: how Karnataka formed its government". The Hindu. May 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  5. "As it happened | Karnataka Lok Sabha results 2019: highlights". The Hindu. 23 May 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  6. ""Serious threat" From Congress Leaders, No Intention Of Meeting Them: Rebel Karnataka MLAs Tell Police". Outlook India. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  7. "All 21 Karnataka Congress Ministers resign to make way for new Cabinet". The Hindu. Special Correspondent. 8 July 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 15 July 2019.CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. "Karnataka crisis: Congress seeks disqualification of rebel MLAs; one more quits". Times of India. Press Trust of India. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  9. "Karnataka political crisis updates: Need to ensure resignations are genuine and voluntary, says the Speaker". The Hindu. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  10. Aryan, Aashish (12 July 2019). "SC directs status quo in Karnataka MLA resigning case, next hearing July 16". Business Standard India. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  11. "Speaker should 'decide now' on resignations, Karnataka MLAs tell Supreme Court". The Telegraph. Calcutta. Press Trust of India. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  12. "Karnataka crisis live: speaker says working as per Constitution, Supreme Court order tomorrow". The Economic Times. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  13. Das, Shaswati (9 July 2019). "Rajya Sabha adjourned twice over Karnataka crisis". Livemint. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  14. "BJP 'buying' MLAs in Karnataka". Times of India. 6 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  15. "Karnataka crisis: 21 Congress ministers resign; BJP wants Kumaraswamy to step down". India Today. 8 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.

See also
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