State News And Discussion - 3

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October 11, 2010, 8:00:

Karnataka Speaker K G Bopaiah has disqualified 16 MLAs (11 BJP and 5 Independents) just ahead of the crucial trust vote against the BJP government on Monday.



Bopaiah, who heard the disqualification plea on Sunday, passed the disqualification order at 0230 hours on Monday.



This means that the 16 MLAs who had been plotting the fall of the government cannot vote in the trust motion today.



With the disqualification, the strength of the Karnataka assembly has come down to 208, which means that the BJP will have to get at least 105 votes to get through the trust vote.



The BJP currently has 105 members following this disqualification. In addition, the Speaker will also have the right to cast his vote.



The congress on the other hand has 73 MLAs while the JD-S has 28 and there is one Independent candidate.



The rebels who have been barred from voting have decided to approach the Karnataka high court chief justice directly. They feel that the order is unjust and would seek an early hearing since the trust vote commences at 1000 hours and court proceedings normally start only by 1030 hours.



The rebels say that in case they cannot get relief from the high court, they will approach the state governor