Bengaluru: A day before new Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa seeks a trust vote in the state Assembly, Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar on Sunday disqualified 14 Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) legislators who had resigned from the Assembly and also banned them from contesting polls till the tenure of the present assembly ends in 2023.
With this, the total number of disqualified MLAs has risen to 17 bringing down the strength of the House to 207 and the half-way mark to 104. The disqualification could therefore come as a blessing in disguise for the ruling BJP as it has the support of 106 MLAs (including one Independent) ensuring it has crossed the half-way mark. The Congress-JD(S) combine has the support of only 100 MLAs (excluding the Speaker) giving enough indications of which way the trust vote on Monday is likely to go.
Last week, Ramesh Kumar had disqualified three MLAs-Ramesh Jarkiholi and Mahesh Kumatalli, both of the Congress, and Ranebennur KPJP MLA R Shankar (who later merged with the Congress) for violating the whip issued by their party.
Addressing a hurriedly-called press conference on Sunday, the Speaker said Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah and KPCC President Dinesh Gundurao had filed four petitions against the rebel MLAs seeking their disqualification since they had violated the whip issued by the party.
Similarly, former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy had filed another petition seeking similar action against three rebel JD(S) legislators.
All MLAs were issued notices to personally appear on specified dates; but none of them turned up. After going through several judgments, the Speaker said he had decided to disqualify Pratap Gouda Patil (Maski), B.C. Patil (Hirekerur), Shivaram Hebbar (Yellapur), S.T. Somashekar (Yesvantpur), Byrathi Basavaraj (KR Puram), Anand Singh (Vijaynagar), Roshan Baig (Shivajinagar), N Muniratna (Raja Rajeshwari Nagar), Dr K Sudhakar (Chikballapur), Srimanth Patil (Kagawad), M.T.B. Nagaraj (Hosakote), all Congress MLAs and A.H. Vishwanath (Hunsur), Narayana Gowda (KR Pete) and N Gopalaiah (Mahalakshmipuram) Asked whether the disqualified legislators can question his decision in a court of law, the Speaker said. “I have done my job, I am not worried (about its consequences). I will be vindicated if the court upholds my decision and I will stand corrected if my decision is changed. I have discharged my duty in the given situation and not acted under any pressure".
On the BJP's reported plan to move a motion of no-confidence against him, he said “Whatever I have done is purely as per law, let the next Speaker ponder over it,” dropping broad hints that he is planning to step down on Monday.
