Cong bags Karnataka speaker's post ahead of Kumaraswamy floor test: Updates

Turmoil over government formation in Karnataka will end soon with newly sworn-in Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy facing a floor test in Bengaluru on Friday to prove his majority. While Kumaraswamy should sail through smoothly with the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition's support behind him, two possible irritants for the health of his government have already emerged.

One of the possible threats Kumaraswamy faces is from a repeat of Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) 'Operation Kamala', while the other has emerged from his coalition partner, the Congress, which has said that no decision has been taken on the full extent of his tenure as chief minister.

The coalition, however, received a major boost ahead of the floor test on Friday. Congress leader K R Ramesh Kumar was unanimously elected as Speaker of the house after BJP withdrew its leader Suresh Kumar's candidature for the post.

Kumaraswamy was sworn in at a grand assembly of Opposition and regional leaders, hailing from parties looking to form a joint front against the BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, on Wednesday.

Karnataka CM Kumaraswamy says have stopped Modi's Ashwamedha horse: Updates

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has said that the Janata Dal (Secular) and Congress alliance has succeeded in "tying" Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Ashwamedha horse (victory horse) in Karnataka, insinuating that the Modi-Amit Shah duo's electoral juggernaut has been halted. On Wednesday, Kumaraswamy was sworn in as the 25th chief minister of Karnataka in a ceremony in Bengaluru that brought together anti-Bharatiya Janata Party (anti-BJP) regional and Opposition parties on a single platform ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

"I had said after the Uttar Pradesh election results came out that my aim is to tie the Ashwamedha horse of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah (BJP President). Today, both Congress and JD(S), together, have tied their Ashwamedha horse in Karnataka," said Kumaraswamy, adding, "Probably, in the days to come, Amit Shah has to go to Narendra Modi with lifeless Ashwamedha horse, as we have tied their horse."

The swearing-in ceremony, which also saw Congress' G Parameshwara sworn in as Karnataka deputy chief minister, showcased rare scenes of bonhomie between United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati, Nationalist Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, Communist Party of India Member of Parliament D Raja, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejaswi Yadav, and former Union minister Sharad Yadav.

Yeddyurappa sworn in as Karnataka CM: Rahul, Shah trade charges; updates

The political battle over Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader B S Yeddyurappa taking oath as Karnataka Chief Minister intensified on Thursday with both Congress and BJP accusing each other of 'murdering democracy'.

The Congress on Wednesday had termed Karnataka Governor's decision to invite BJP to form government as "murder of democracy and trampling of Constitution".

Responding to the accusation, BJP President Amit Shah today said, "The 'Murder of Democracy' happens the minute a desperate Congress made an 'opportunist' offer to the JD(S), not for Karnataka's welfare but for their petty political gains. Shameful!."

Addressing a rally in Chhatisgarh's Raipur, Congress President Rahul Gandhi launched a fresh attack on BJP-led government in the Centre saying Constitution was under "severe attack" in the country where an atmosphere of fear prevailed.

He also compared the current state of democratic institutions with those of Pakistan. "RSS is making way into all institutions in the country. Aisa Pakistan ya tanashahi mein hota hai (such things happen in Pakistan)," Rahul Gandhi said.