Bengaluru: The JDS-Congress combine has been invited to form the government by the Governor and the swearing in ceremony will take place on May 21, JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy said here on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Governor Vajubhai Vala, Kumaraswamy said the Governor has given him 15 days to prove the majority, "but we will do it much before."
Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Friday held a crucial meeting with Congress MLAs to discuss the strategy to be adopted in the state Assembly on Saturday as the BJP government seeks a trust vote.
However, B.S. Yeddyurappa stepped down as Chief Minister without facing the floor test in the assembly as the BJP fell short of numbers.
Kumaraswamy's meeting with the governor came hours after Yeddyurappa's decision.
The post-election stitched alliance of JDS and Congress, which claims the support of 117 members, has already staked its claim to form the government and said it would be headed by Kumaraswamy, who would be the Chief Minister for a second time.
The May 12 assembly polls threw up a hung assembly, with the BJP emerging as the single-largest party with 104 seats.
The Congress got 78 seats and the JD(S), 37.
Karnataka Governor's resignation sought
In Chandigarh, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday demanded the immediate resignation of Karnataka Governor Vajubhai R. Vala in view of the latest political developments in the southern state.
"The events of the day have thoroughly exposed the dirty nexus between the (BJP) party and the Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala, who had violated all norms of Constitutional decorum and democratic principles to sub-serve the interests of his political masters.
"The Governor should immediately step down on ethical grounds in view of the developments in the assembly. Vala, a RSS functionary was clearly working at the behest of the BJP leadership, had lost all moral right to continue in office.
"The august office of the Governor had been maligned and denigrated by Vala and the Supreme Court should order his dismissal if he fails to resign," he said in a statement.
Hailing the developments in Karnataka Assembly as a "vindication of the Congress party's moral and political stand and a total loss of face for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)", Amarinder Singh said that the BJP had "stooped to new lows of political impropriety in its desperation to grab power in the state by hook or by crook".
Reacting to the resignation of B.S. Yeddyurappa ahead of the crucial floor test, he said Indian democracy had been saved from "total desecration at the hands of the power-hungry BJP".
He said that the Supreme Court had come to the rescue to uphold the Constitution of the country.
Congress celebrates fall of 3-day BJP government in Karnataka
Also, in Bengaluru, celebrations broke out at the Congress party office as hundreds of its cadres greeted the "fall" of the 3-day BJP government on Saturday by bursting firecrackers and distributing sweets among themselves and even passersby.
"Our cadres celebrated the victory of democracy by breaking hundreds of coconuts at the party minutes after Yeddyurappa resigned and the three-day BJP government fell," a beaming Congress spokesman Ravi Gowda told IANS.
Yeddurappa steps down
As the BJP failed to muster the numbers (112) required for a simple majority in the 224-member hung assembly, Yeddyurappa chose to step down than face the crucial floor test for trust vote, as directed by the Supreme Court on Friday.
Terming Yeddyurappa's resignation as a victory of the Constitution and the rule of law, former Congress Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said democracy had won in Karnataka.
"This is a victory of the public mandate, a victory for our institutions and ideals enshrined in the Constitution.
My hearty congratulations to every member of the Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) for sticking to the path of truth," tweeted Siddaramaiah soon after Yeddyurappa resigned.
Lashing out at state Governor Vajubhai Vala for giving Yeddyurappa 15 days to prove that he had majority in a hung House, the Congress leader said the BJP was hell bent on forming the government by any means though it had only 104 legislators.
"The BJP's attempt showed it had no respect for the Constitution or the people's mandate. It had been functioning in a dictatorial manner, misusing powers to usurp the state. It has kept the Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate and the Income-Tax department under its clutches," charged Siddaramaiah.
Likening Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP's National President Amit Shah to Hitler and Goebbles of Nazis in Germany, Siddaramaih said without the blessings of the duo (Modi and Shah), the BJP's state unit could not have indulged in horse-trading and blatant subversion of the Constitution.
"Karnataka has shown the BJP that democracy is not for sale in India," tweeted Siddaramaiah.
Congratulating legislators of the Congress and JD-S for staying together and united in the hour of grave political crisis in the state, Congress General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad lauded them for resisting arm-twisting by the Centre and its agencies.
"They stood by the party principles and decisions taken by the party leadership. Some of our legislators were held captive and under the illegal custody of the BJP. But when they got the opportunity to reach the assembly, they
stood by the party. None of the 117 legislators of the Congress, JD-S and Independents had defected," claimed Azad.
Hailing also the judiciary for rising to the occasion and advancing the floor test in the assembly to two days from
15 days the Governor gave to Yeddyurappa to prove majority in a hung House, Azad said there was no reason why the BJP was given over two weeks.
"Giving 15 days was against the spirit of the Constitution, as it would have allowed horse-trading — winning over legislators of rival parties through bribes and other inducements. The Governor knew that the BJP had no numbers," recalled Azad.
Azad also accused the BJP leaders of luring the Congress members with money and other offers, which they had refused outright.
"It's a victory of democracy, Constitution and the people of Karnataka," added Azad.
(With reports from IANS)
