Karnataka legislative council Chairman allows 'No confidence' motion against him

For the first time in the history of Karnataka legislative council, a 'No confidence' motion was moved against the Chairman. Congress moved a motion seeking Chairman D H Shankarmurthy's ouster. What came as a surprise to the house was the chairman allowing the motion against him.

The legislative council was established in 1907 and this is the first instance of No confidence motion being moved against the Chair. Soon after the question hour and zero hour concluded, Shankarmurthy told the council that a no-confidence motion had been moved against him and that he wished to make a statement based on his reading of the constitution.

Shankarmurthy claimed that the motion neither had specific charges nor clarity in the allegations made against him. "I found no specific charges against me and as a result could not respond. It also was against the principles of natural justice in this regard," he said. D H SHankarmurthy however, allowed the motion 'in the spirit of democracy'.

33 MLCs of the Congress supported the motion after it was moved by party leader Revanna. The entire house is expected tp vote in favour of or against the motion in a couple of days.

While the Congress is short of a clear majority despite having the support of independent candidates, it is heavily dependent on JD(S) to support the motion. The JD(S) however, is non-committal over its stance. The Congress hopes to bring in a new Chairman to facilitate passing of bills ahead of assembly elections in 2018. While the Congress has the numbers in the legislative assembly, key bills are being stalled in the council and the Congress hopes to undo it by bringing a Chairman who is favourable to the party.

OneIndia News