Mamata hails SC order on K'taka, says regional parties

TMC president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today welcomed the Supreme Court verdict ordering a floor test for the B S Yeddyurappa government in the Karnataka Assembly tomorrow and said the regional parties would decide on their next move after it.

Banerjee, who has mooted the idea of a Federal Front to take on the Narendra Modi government in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, is keeping in touch with prominent regional leaders over the fast-paced developments in Karnataka.

"We have great respect for the verdict of the Hon'ble Supreme Court. We will watch tomorrow's floor test. We, the 'regional' parties, will decide our next course of action after that," Banerjee tweeted.

After the Congress extended support to the JD(S) to form government in Karnataka, she had said it showed the growing importance of the regional parties in the national politics.

Banerjee had spoken to JD(S) chief H D Devegowda over accepting the Congress's support and later dialled his son H D Kumarswamy when Governor Vajubhai Vala invited the BJP, the single largest party, to form government despite falling short of the requisite numbers.

She has also spoken to her Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu on the Karnataka political episode.

Banerjee has also endorsed the views of BSP supremo Mayawati, DMK leader Stalin and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav slamming the BJP on the Karnataka issue.