Kumaraswamy loses trust vote in Karnataka

Surjit Kumar Dhal, Bengaluru, July 23: Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumarswamy on Tuesday lost the trust motion in Karnataka Assembly.

The confidence motion received 99 votes in favour and 105 against, said Speaker Ramesh Kumar.

Earlier, in an emotional speech, he said he was ready to happily sacrifice my position.

Replying to the confidence motion debate in the assembly he said, “I am ready to happily sacrifice this position,” Kumaraswamy said after the assembly debated the confidence motion for four days.

 He also said he had no intention to drag the trust vote and added, “I apologise to the Speaker and the people of the state.”

 Kumaraswamy also said discussions were on why he had not resigned and was sticking to the chair.

 He said when the 2018 assembly polls results were out, he had plans to quit politics.

“My political entry itself was all of a sudden and unexpected,” he said.

High drama prevailed at an apartment here as Congress and BJP workers rushed there following reports about the alleged presence of two independent MLAs who withdrew support to thecoalition government and aligned with the BJP.

 Amid the political turmoil, police imposed prohibitory orders in the city under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) (prevents assembly of five or more people at one spot) and banned sale of liquor from 6 pm Tuesday to 6 am on Thursday.