Will follow SC order on MLAs’ resignations: Karnataka Speaker
Bengaluru: Karnataka Assembly Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar on Wednesday said he would follow the Supreme Court’s order that the 15 rebel legislators of the ruling Congress-JD-S allies cannot be compelled to participate in the proceedings of the House.
“I will follow the Supreme Court order on the resignations of 15 rebel MLAs within a time-frame, as advised. I will not delay in deciding on the resignations,” Kumar told reporters in Kannada at his residence in Kolar soon after the apex court pronounced the order.
Kolar, about 100 km east of Bengaluru, is Kumar’s home constituency.
As directed by the apex court, Kumar said, he would not force the rebel legislators to attend the Assembly session on Thursday for participating in the trust vote Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy would move to prove if his coalition government has a majority or not in the House.
“The trust-vote would take place on Thursday as fixed by the Assembly business advisory committee on Monday to enable the Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy move the confidence motion for a floor test in the House after debate by the ruling and opposition members,” said Kumar.
Of the 16 rebel legislators who resigned, including 13 from the Congress and three from the JD-S, 15 of them petitioned the Supreme Court on July 10 and July 13 for directing the Speaker to accept their resignations forthwith.
Senior Congress lawmaker R. Ramalinga Reddy did not move the top court on his resignation, which he submitted in the Speaker’s office on July 6 and was found to be in order.