In a welcome change, the Supreme Court has ordered for the live telecast of the entire proceedings of the Trust Vote of BS Yeddyurappa which will be held today at 4 PM in Vidhan Sabha, Karnataka Assembly. The SC ordered to give the live telecast to all the local, regional and national channels simultaneously. It said the move is to ensure transparency in the proceedings.

Welcoming the decision, Congress leader and lawyer Abhishek Singhvi said the whole intention of Congress to file the petition is to ensure transparency in the Trust Vote and he said once it is taken care of, the Congress has no more objections.

Supreme Court Dismisses Congress-JD(S) Plea against Pro Tem Speaker

Meanwhile, in a minor set back, the Supreme Court has dismissed the plea filed by the Congress and JD(S) combine challenging Karnataka Governor’s decision to appoint BJP MLA KG Bopaiah as pro-tem Speaker. Congress and JD(S) alleged that Bopaiah had once saved BS Yeddyurappa.

The SC’s hearing began at 10:30 am today before a bench comprising justices A K Sikri, S A Bobde and Ashok Bhushan which was hearing the crisis in Karnataka after the elections which delivered a fractured verdict.

Opening the arguments, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Congress-JD(S) combine, said as per convention the senior-most MLA should be appointed pro tem speaker. He said the governor has very limited discretionary power in appointing pro tem speaker and “we would have no objection if pro tem speaker only had to administer oath to the MLAs, the problem is here he is also holding the floor test”.

The senior lawyer said appointing senior-most lawmaker as pro tem speaker has been a practice in place in commonwealth countries. However, the bench shot back “there have been earlier instances where senior-most MLA has not been appointed as pro tem speaker”.

“If you (Sibal) are casting aspersions on the pro tem speaker then we will have to issue notice to him and postpone the floor test,” the bench said.

After hearing from both the sides, the Supreme Court today quashed the plea filed by Congress and JD(S) against the appointment of KG Bopaiah as the pro-tem Speaker. With this Bopaiah to conduct the today’s floor test in Vidhan Sabha, Karnataka Assembly.

This seems to be the time for political films as the election season is taking off. While the Telugu audience has already experienced Nene Raju Nene Mantri and Bharat Ane Nenu, there are also films like “Yatra” coming down the line showcasing the life story of YS Rajasekhara Reddy.

Now another film titled “Nene Mukhyamantri” is getting ready. Inside sources say that director turned actor Devi Prasad who turned popular with “Needi Nadi Oke Katha” acted in the role similar to that of Chandrababu Naidu in the film. The film is said to be an out and out satire on political phenomenon of Andhra Pradesh.

While a few inside sources are saying that it is a sarcasm on YS Jagan, others say that it a satire not targeting on any particular party or person but something in general. Whatever be the subject, there are also some leaks that there are some characters resembling the contemporary politicians in this film.

To know more, we have to wait till the first teaser or the trailer comes out. Mohan Ravipati, a political commentator popular on social media is directing the film.

Power star and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan is likely to make a big dent in the prospects of the ruling Telugu Desam Party in north-coastal Andhra Pradesh in 2019 elections, if the response he has got from the people is any indication.

Pawan has strategically decided to start his bus yatra from Srikakulam, which has been a bastion on the TDP right from the beginning.In fact, he systematically gained an entry into the region by taking up people’s issues like Uddanam kidney patients’ issue and Vamsadhara project evacuees’ problems in the last two years.On Friday, when Pawan visited Srikakulam district, he received tremendous response from the people, who raised “CM,” “CM” slogans.

At one stage, it had become difficult for the police to control the crowds and they had to take help of his bouncers to provide security to him.Obviously, the Jana Sena Party appeared to have created an impact on the people and if he is able to sustain the same, he would definitely give the TDP a run for its money in the next elections.

The response to Pawan in Srikakulam has naturally caused jitters in the TDP camp. That the TDP is panicky was evident from the reaction of senior TDP leader and former Union minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju, who generally does not come out with any political statements or criticise his rivals.

But on Saturday, Ashok said the proposed bus yatra by Jana Sena leader Pawan Kalyan in north coastal Andhra would not yield anything.“His brother Chiranjeevi floated Praja Rajyam and merged it with Congress after he failed to win the elections. Now, Pawan will also emulate his elder brother,” he said.

In a turn of high-octane political events, BS Yeddyurappa has admitted his failure to gather required numbers to form the government and announced to quit as Chief Minister of Karnataka.

In an emotional speech, teary-eyed Yeddyurappa claimed he wanted to do a lot for the people of Karnataka but couldn’t due to lack of numbers. He alleged that he is resigning for the CM post due to “un ethical” coalition of Congress and JD(S). Yeddyurappa further alleged that this is against to the will of the people of Karnataka. As soon as Yedyyurappa completed his speech, he left to the Raj Bhavan to submit his resignation to Governor Vajubhai Vala. BJP MLAs followed him with a sad faces.

With this, stage is all set for Kumaraswamy to become the new Chief Minister of Karnataka. Kumaraswamy, Congress senior leader and ex minister Shivakumar are all smiles with no hurdles for Congress-JD(S) combine. Delighted with this, MLAs of Congress and JD(S) have stayed in Vidhan Sabha and shown victory symbols.