Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader K G Bopaiah was on Wednesday elected as the speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. The elections were held after Jagadish Shettar stepped down the post to be sworn in as a cabinet minister in the B S Yeddyurappa government.
Karnataka Assembly Speaker Jagadish Shettar on Monday quit the post, paving way for his induction into the ministry on Tuesday as part of a compromise formula evolved to end the recent dissidence against Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.
The bench, comprising Justices Mohan Shantanagouder, S Abdul Nazeer and A S Bopanna was constituted on October 30.
The crisis in Karnataka appears to have blown over and the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state appears to be happy that the report of Governor H R Bharadwaj endorsing President's rule has been rejected by the Centre.
The order came after the Congress-JD-S combine had challenged the appointment of K G Bopaiah as the pro tem speaker by Governor Vajubhai Vala.
The Congress, in its application termed the governor's action as a "brazen unconstitutional" act to appoint "a junior MLA as the pro tem speaker.
Facing opposition flak for not summarily disqualifying three former disgraced ministers over the porn row, Karnataka Assembly Speaker K G Bopaiah on Friday said a showcause notice was issued to the trio to ensure principles of natural justice and fair-play.
Suresh Kumar said he was withdrawing his nomination following a direction from the BJP leadership.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka on Tuesday suffered an embarrassment after party MLA Haladi Srinivasa Shetty resigned from the Assembly over denial of ministerial berth in the Jagadish Shettar cabinet.
Justices Abdul Nasir, Mohan Shanthan Goudar and A S Bopanna, in a unanimous verdict, held that the order of the Speaker was right and not malafide.
The post of Karnataka Lokayukta had been lying vacant since September 2011, after Shivaraj V Patil resigned from the post in the wake of a media expose that showed irregularities in the allotment of two residential plots to him and his wife.
Ahead of the floor test in Maharashtra, what is more crucial is who becomes the pro-tem speaker. And bagging this post is part of the BJP's plan to retain power, reports Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com/
All the 13 legislators, who resigned from the Karnataka assembly membership on Tuesday, will also give up their primary membership to the Bharatiya Janatha Party.
The future course of Karnataka politics may be decided on Monday by a three-judge bench of the high court comprising Justices Abdul Nasir, Mohan Shanthan Goudar and A S Bopanna. The bench will deliver a verdict on the validity of the suspension of five independent Members of Legislative Assembly by Speaker K G Bopaiah.
The final hearing on the petition filed by five Independent MLAs challenging their disqualification from the Assembly membership will commence in the Karnataka High Court on Monday.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday a issued notice to Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on a petition challenging his decision to disqualify seven members of Legislative Assembly.
Three former Karnataka ministers on Monday sought a week's extension to file reply to the show-cause notices issued by Speaker K G Bopaiah on the porn-watching episode in the legislative assembly.
Three former Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party ministers, who lost their jobs over watching porn film clippings on mobile when the assembly was in session, on Thursday submitted their replies to the show cause notice slapped on them by Speaker K G Bopaiah.
As the political turmoil lingered on with the ruling coalition making frenetic efforts to win back rebels who have pushed it to the brink of collapse, assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar on Monday announced the confidence motion sought to be moved by Kumaraswamy would be taken up at 11 am on July 18.
Indulging in religious conversion with inducement or under pressure is an "unpardonable offence", the state home minister Araga Jnanendra said adding, it may also lead to disturbance of peace in the society.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made in districts like Kodagu and Chitradurga, coastal regions among others, where local communities are opposed to the celebrations.
An adverse judgement could have triggered a political realignment in Tamil Nadu and brought the ruling party perilously close to losing its majority in the state assembly whose effective strength is 232. Two seats are vacant.