Karnataka: Rebel MLAs to approach Supreme Court against disqualification
Following his disqualification from the Karnataka Assembly, rebel JD(S) MLA AH Vishwanath said he and other disqualified lawmakers will approach the Supreme Court on Monday to challenge their disqualification which was "against the law". Karnataka Speaker KR Ramesh on Sunday disqualified 14 rebel MLAs -11 from Congress and three from JD(S)- until the end of the current Assembly term in 2023. Here's more.
17 rebel MLAs disqualified from Karnataka Assembly so far
The disqualification of the 14 rebel MLAs from the Karnataka Assembly comes only a day ahead of the newly-formed BJP government's floor test on Monday. Speaker Ramesh earlier disqualified three Congress rebel MLAs on Thursday. BJP staked claim to power in Karnataka after the coalition government of Congress and JD(S) failed to clear the trust vote in the Assembly last week.
The disqualification is against the law: Vishwanath
"The disqualification is against the law... just under a whip served on them, you cannot force the legislators to come to the House," Vishwanath told PTI. "The speaker has disqualified 20 members of the legislature on the grounds that they have not attended the House... so against this decision pronounced by the Speaker, we are approaching the Supreme Court on Monday," he said.
Confident we will be victorious in SC: Disqualified MLA
Meanwhile, disqualified Congress MLA from Maski, Pratap Gowda Patil, also said they are challenging the disqualification in the SC. He said, "Dear voters and my well-wishers, the Speaker has ordered my disqualification from the Assembly... there is no need to panic. We are challenging this in the Supreme Court." "I am confident we will be victorious in the court," he added.
Leaders in Congress didn't cooperate with Kumaraswamy: Rebel Congress MLA
Meanwhile, another disqualified rebel Congress MLA Munirathana said, "...Our own party leaders had said we will disqualify (you) if you go out." "We are not small children or we have not gone out without knowledge of others," he said, adding the disqualified lawmakers would challenge the decision legally. He alleged many Congress leaders didn't cooperate with HD Kumaraswamy to run the Congress-JD(S) government smoothly.
Speaker disqualified rebel MLAs under pressure: Shivaram Hebbar
In a Facebook post, Shivaram Hebbar, a disqualified Congress MLA who represented Yellapur, alleged that Speaker Ramesh's decision to disqualify rebel legislators was taken under "pressure" and in a partisan manner. Adding that the matter will be challenged in SC, he wrote, "I will soon reveal to you the reasons for my decisions and will take further steps after consulting you."
