Staff Reporter / New Delhi
Supreme Court today gave liberty to Speaker KR Ramesh to decide on the resignations of the MLAs, saying there was no deadline for him to take a call on the issue.
Apex court however ruled that the 15 rebel Congress-JDS MLAs could not be forced to take part in the trust vote scheduled for tomorrow.
The court decision came after intense arguments on Tuesday during which Kumaraswamy said the rebel MLAs are “hunting in a pack”, alleging their motive is to bring down his government, while the dissidents submitted that Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar wants to prop up a government which has lost majority.
If the resignations are accepted, the coalition would be reduced to a minority in the assembly and leave it poised on the brink of collapse in the climax of a crisis that began on July 6.
Former Karnataka CM Jagadish Shettar reiterating that the Supreme Court has observed that there is no time frame for the Speaker to take a call on the says, “I hope the Speaker will decide on the resignations within a day or two.” Shettar also urged Kumaraswamy to resign as the Chief Minister. “There is anarchy in the state because of HD Kumaraswamy, he should resign immediately after this verdict and not wait for the trust vote.”
BJP’s GVL Narsimha Rao hails SC’s verdict in the case and says, “SC has given the relief to the MLAs they were hoping for. The many whips issued by the Congress-JD(S) will not affect the MLAs”