BENGALURU, July 19 - In a face-off with Governor Vajubhai Vala, the JDS-Congress government in Karnataka defied the two deadlines set by him to demonstrate its majority in the Assembly on Friday itself, worsening the political logjam.
The Assembly was adjourned till Monday after the Governor�s 1.30 pm deadline and the second one to conclude the confidence motion process by Friday itself was ignored, prolonging the climax to the ceaseless power struggle.
As the first deadline neared, the ruling coalition vociferously questioned the Governor�s power to issue such a direction, with Kumaraswamy citing a Supreme Court verdict that a Governor cannot act as ombudsman of the legislature.
The second missive by the Governor was dismissed as a �love letter� by Kumaraswamy who criticised Vala for talking about horse-trading now �when it had been happening� for the last several days.
Before adjourning the House for the day, Speaker Ramesh Kumar said the motion of confidence would reach finality on Monday and it would not be prolonged further under any circumstances, to which the government agreed.
In his second missive to Kumaraswamy, the Governor expressed his �prima facie satisfaction� that the government has lost its majority confidence of the House.
�When the allegations of horse-trading are widely made and I am receiving many complaints, it is constitutionally imperative that the floor test be completed without any delay and today itself.
�I, therefore, require you to prove your majority and complete and conclude the floor test procedure today,� Vala told Kumaraswamy in the second letter since Thursday.
The Governor said he was receiving various reports about the attempts being made for horse-trading.
�This can be averted only if the exercise of conducting the floor test is conducted at the earliest and without any delay,� the Governor said. � PTI
