Karnataka Speaker disqualifies 3 rebel legislators

Bengaluru: In a monumental decision which is bound to have a serious bearing on the attempts by the BJP to seize power after the collapse of the JD(S)-Congress coalition government headed by H.D. Kumaraswamy, Assembly Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar on Thursday disqualified three MLAs who had broken away from the coalition — two of the Congress and one Independent — while withholding his decision on the remaining 13 rebel MLAs.

Announcing his decision at a crowded press conference at Vidhana Soudha, Mr Ramesh Kumar said the disqualification had become necessary under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, as the MLAs had violated the party whip, adding that it will be applicable till the end of the term of the current Assembly in 2023. He also said he will take a decision on the remaining 13 MLAs who have resigned from the Assembly in a couple of days.

The Speaker made it clear that members disqualified under the anti-defection law cannot contest or get elected to the Assembly till the end of the term of the House. The disqualification ensures that the three MLAs cannot be inducted into the state Cabinet immediately. Second, with the Speaker withholding his decision on the resignations of the remaining 13 JD(S) and Congress legislators, sources in the BJP said they would be taking a calculated risk by going ahead with government formation, without being sure of the support of the rebels or whether they can be accommodated in the Cabinet.

In fact, a team of the state BJP led by former CM Jagadish Shettar did meet party president Amit Shah briefly in New Delhi on Thursday to prevail upon him the need to form a government at the earliest. But Mr Shah reportedly advised the Karnataka team to be patient and not to form the government in a hurry.

For one, the rebel MLAs reportedly want the new dispensation to be a coalition government, which is not palatable to some in the BJP. Saffron party leaders know the rebels would push for an upper hand in the new government, which would force “original” BJP leaders to sacrifice a lot to accommodate those coming from outside — something that many in the party are not keen on.

Explaining his decision to disqualify R. Shankar, who was elected from Ranebennur constituency in 2018, Mr Ramesh Kumar said the MLA had merged his party, KPJP, with the Congress and had even given him a letter to this effect on June 16, 2019. But he later resigned as a minister and also gave the governor a letter saying that he was withdrawing support to the Congress. With CLP leader Siddaramaiah filing a complaint, Mr Shankar’s disqualification became necessary, the Speaker said.

As for the other two MLAs — Ramesh Jarkiholi from Gokak, considered the mastermind behind the current rebellion, and Mahesh Kumatalli from Athani — the Speaker recalled that before they submitted their resignations from the Assembly on July 6, the complaint seeking their disqualification had already been filed on February 11, 2019 by former CM Siddaramaiah after they skipped a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party. They too have been disqualified under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution, he said, adding that the resignations “were not voluntary or genuine”, which was also a ground for disqualification.

The Speaker made it clear that he needed more time to decide on the resignations of the remaining 13 rebel MLAs of the Congress and JD(S), who are now camping in Mumbai after ensuring the exit of the coalition government. “I will dispose of the case in a couple of days. In this case, the disqualification petition was filed after the MLAs resigned,” he recalled.

He expressed his displeasure with the rebel MLAs for blaming him in the Supreme Court for delaying his decision on their resignations. “Without seeking my appointment or approaching me in person, they came to my office and submitted their resignations. But they (rebels) said in the Supreme Court that I had deliberately avoided meeting them. These are baseless allegations,” he said.

While reading out his order, the Speaker cited the Supreme Court judgment in the Ravi Naik vs Union of India case, and also brought up the order of the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker disqualifying 16 AIADMK MLAs and the Chennai high court ruling upholding the Speaker’s order. He also mentioned the order of vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu when he disqualified JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav.