Floor test suspended as emotional Yeddyurappa walks out

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], May 19 (ANI): Amid the turmoil in Karnataka, newly elected Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa exited the Vidhana Soudha to meet the state's governor Vajubhai R. Vala.

This comes after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader announced his resignation as chief minister ahead of the floor test that was scheduled for the Yeddyurappa government to prove majority at the state assembly.

Ahead of the scheduled floor test, Yeddyurappa in his address stated that irrespective of whether his government was in power, he would continue to serve people until his last breath.

"In the last five years, I have seen many things. I never lived in someone's sympathy or sat without responsibility. I have traveled throughout the state for the last two years and have seen the pain on the faces of people. I can't forget the love and affection I received from people. I will lose nothing if I lose power; my life is for the people," an emotional Yeddyurappa claimed.

Yeddyurappa further lashed out at the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) alliance and said the two parties "have gone against the wishes of the people and joined hands."

"People have blessed us with 104 seats. The mandate wasn't for Congress or Janata Dal (Secular). If people would have given us 113 seats instead of 104, we would have made this state a paradise," he opined.

With regards to alleged attempts of poaching MLAs, Yeddyurappa argued that although he had spoken to other MLAs for support, the Congress-JD(S) alliance made them "resort birds."

"It is true that I spoke to many MLAs, and urged them to vote in favour of me. But you made them resort birds and didn't even give their phones to them. Now they get relief. But I'll fight Kumaraswamy, I'll fight till my last breath even if I don't get the mandate I'm resigning and will go to Rajbhavan. I'll live for you; I'm fit and another 10 years I'll tour the state," he added.

Yeddyurappa also took the opportunity to thank the people of Karnataka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP Chief Amit Shah, before announcing his resignation.

The turmoil in Karnataka began when the state governor Vajubhai R. Vala invited the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form the government in the state, despite the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) alliance having a higher number of seats.

Governor Vala had also given 15 days to the Yeddyurappa government to prove the majority in the house.

The Congress then filed a plea in the Supreme Court, which led to a rare midnight hearing by the three-judge bench of justice A.K. Sikri, justice S.A. Bobde and justice Ashok Bhushan. The court, however, refused to stay the oath-taking ceremony, following which Yeddyurappa was sworn in as the 23rd chief minister of Karnataka on Thursday morning.

In the hearing, which took place on Friday morning, the top court after hearing arguments for and against the petition filed by the Congress and JD(S) decided o conduct a floor test at 4 pm on Saturday.

While the Supreme Court, ahead of the floor test, rejected a petition by the Congress-JD(S) challenging the appointment of K.G. Bopaiah as pro-tem speaker, it directed that the procedure be broadcasted live. (ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI