Will a trust vote be held in Karnataka today? Highly unlikely

Bengaluru, July 22: A couple of developments that have taken place in the past half an hour suggest that a trust vote will not take place in Karnataka today.

First the Speaker of the Karnataka Ramesh Kumar said that he had summoned the rebel MLAs to be present before him on Tuesday at 11 am. He said that he wanted to question them and hence had summoned them. This is in relation to the complaint by the JD(S) and Congress, which had sought for their disqualification.

This is the first indicator that a trust vote may not be conducted today as the Speaker may want to decide on their disqualifications first.

Secondly, the Speaker said that he would try and complete the trust vote today. However, there was a rider, when he said that it would all depend on the House proceedings. These are matters relating to the House, I can only try and complete it, he also said.

Third, the Supreme Court refused to hear a petition by two independent MLAs, which sought a directive for the trust vote to be completed today. The SC said that it would be impossible to hear the plea that sought for a test to be conducted by 5 pm today. We will try and take up the matter tomorrow, the court said.