By IANS,
New Delhi : Expressing satisfaction over Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa having won the trust vote, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari Monday alleged that the Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) were attempting to destabilise the party’s government.
“The Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular made attempts to destabilise the BJP government,” Gadkari, who conveyed his greetings to Yeddyurappa over winning the trust vote, told reporters.
Asked about the fate of legislators who had revolted against Yeddyurappa, Gadkari said they had betrayed the party.
“They had been bought over. They betrayed the party… They have been thrown out,” Gadkari said.
The BJP government in Karnataka, its first in the south, proved its majority by winning the confidence motion by a voice vote, Speaker K.G. Bopaiah declared amid chaos in the assembly here.
The Congress and the JD-S, however, cried foul and said the trust vote had not been conducted properly.
The disqualification of 16 rebel legislators, 11 from the BJP and five Independents, by the speaker earlier in the day reduced the effective strength of the 225-member assembly to 208 and the half-way mark to prove majority in the house came down to 105.
One member is nominated from the Ango-Indian community.
With the disqualification of 11 rebels, the strength of the ruling party too declined to 106, including the speaker, followed by the Congress with 73 and JD-S 28; the remaining are six Independents.