New Delhi: In a setback to the Congress, hours before the crucial floor test in the Karnataka assembly, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court turned down the party’s plea against the nomination of BJP MLA K.G. Bopaiah as the pro-tem speaker.Bopaiah is supposed to conduct the floor test, according to the Supreme Court’s directions.The Congress had moved the top court on May 18 arguing that the governor, Vajubhai Vala, had defied convention by not appointing the senior-most MLA of the assembly, R.V. Deshpande, as pro-tem speaker.It had raised doubts over the governor’s intentions as Bopaiah, as the speaker of the assembly between 2009 and 2013, had saved the BJP government by disqualifying some dissident BJP and independent MLAs who had raised their voice against B.S. Yeddyurappa, the then chief minister. Later, the Supreme Court reversed Bopaiah’s order as it thought his decision was hasty and violated the principles of natural justice and fair play.The apex court, however, said today that there were multiple past instances where the pro-tem speaker was not the senior-most person in the assembly and there was no need to reverse the governor’s decision.According to some reports, when the Supreme Court turned down the plea, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Kapil Sibal, representing the Congress party, pleaded further that a pro-tem speaker could administer oath for the newly-elected members but should not be supervising a trust vote in the assembly, as it would be outside his powers. Instead, he should oversee the election of a new speaker before the trust vote. However, the court refused to go against its bench’s directions on May 18.Congress leader Singhvi told the media that the SC’s decision was not a setback and said that all the moves the party had taken were to ensure transparency in the proceedings of the assembly. He welcomed the admission of Mukul Rohatgi, who was representing the governor, that the floor test will be telecast live.He said that live feeds, which was one of the prayers in the Congress’s plea, will ensure transparency. Singhvi added that Rohatgi agreeing to live feeds is “like making virtue out of necessity” and that he should have agreed to it before Congress made its plea.Rohatgi confirmed that the Supreme Court turned down the Congress’s plea and called it a “desperate attempt” to scuttle the trust vote.Meanwhile, in Bengaluru, the newly-elected legislators reached the Karnataka assembly for the crucial floor test this evening, Both the political fronts – the BJP and Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) post-poll alliance – have expressed confidence over winning the majority vote.