[Bengaluru]Yeddyurappa Takes Oath, Congress Terms it “Unprecedented” and Demand Supporting MLA’s List Immediately
Draped in a green shawl on his white safari suit, B S Yeddyurappa took the oath as Karnataka chief minister today in the name of God and farmers amid chants of “Modi, Modi” and sloganeering at the Raj Bhavan.
As Governor Vajubhai Vala administered Yeddyurappa the oath of secrecy and office, the man of the moment chose to take oath in the name of God and the farmers of Karnataka.
The 75-year old Lingayat strongman, who became chief minister for a second time, was projected in the run-up to assembly election as ‘Raitha Bandhu’ – the friend of the farmers.
Before leaving for Raj Bhavan, Yeddyurappa paid his obeisance at the Radhakrishna Temple
He was accompanied by his sons B Y Raghavendra and B Y Vijayendra, senior party functionaries including union ministers D V Sadananda Gowda and Prakash Javadekar and BJP national general secretary P Muralidhar Rao.Amid Vedic hymns and playing of musical instrument ‘Naadaswaram’, the special prayers were performed.
After the swearing in, Yeddyurappa drove to the Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat, and bowed at the entrance steps before entering his office as the new chief minister of the state
Congress leaders today staged a protest in front of the Gandhi statue next to the Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat, against the swearing in of B S Yeddyurappa as chief minister.
Several senior Congress leaders, including former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ashok Gehlot, Mallikarjuna Kharge, party’s General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka K C Venugopal, sat at the foot of the statue, staging the protest.
The newly elected Congress legislators, who are staying at a resort on the city outskirts, also joined the protest.
Janata Dal (Secular) legislators and leaders will also be joining the agitation soon, party sources said.
Speaking to reporters, Siddaramaiah termed as “unprecedented” Governor Vajubhai Vala’s decision to grant 15 days time to Yeddyurappa for proving majority in the assembly.
Earlier today, the Supreme Court refused to stay the swearing-in after a rare post-midnight courtroom battle unfolded dramatically over the Congress-JD(S) combine’s legal push to stall government formation.
After a nearly three-and-a-half-hour hearing beginning 2:11 AM, a three-judge apex court bench also made it clear that the swearing-in and the government formation would be subject to the final outcome of the case before it.
The bench, comprising justices A K Sikri, S A Bobde and Ashok Bhushan, posted the matter for further hearing tomorrow morning and ordered placing before it the letter of support from MLAs presented by the BJP to Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala while staking claim to form the government.