Karnataka Political Crisis: Karnataka Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar on Tuesday said that none of resignations by the legislatures have reached him as of now. He said no MLA has sought any appointment with him and that if someone wants to meet him, he is available in the office. "Till now, no MLA has sought an appointment with me. If anyone wants to meet me, I will be available in my office," he told reporters. "I am no way related to the current political developments in the state. I am acting as per the Constitution," he added.

When asked about the acceptance of the resignations, the speaker told the media, "I've certain rules, 'll go by that. Then decision will be taken. I've to be responsible. Certain things in law are implied. Office of Speaker should behave responsibly. No time-frame is mentioned there."

He further said, "I'll look at it, I have to treat the resignations individually, not a in groups." He added by saying that if anyone prove that the resignations was under duress, it will not be accepted.

He also said, "The clause says if the Speaker is convinced that the resignations are voluntary & genuine he can accept otherwise...I don't know, I am not a well-read man. I have to see..."

Watch | Karnataka Political Crisis: Did Not Receive Any Resignations, Claims Speaker


Meanwhile, Karnataka Congress unit president Dinesh Gundu Rao, "I am confident that the government will survive and the government will stay. That I am confident about."

Karnataka Coalition Government Crisis

Karnataka's year-old Congress-Janata Dal (S) coalition government is on the brink of collapse after the spate of resignations by the MLAs. As many as 15 MLAs have withdrawn their support to the coalition in the state.

The Karnataka Congress has accused the BJP of being behind the resignation of the MLAs and demanded to know how much money was being spent on the legislators, as it alleged that state BJP chief B S Yeddyurappas Personal Assistant was seen along with them.

Siddaramaiah while addressing the media today said, "It has been a habit of BJP to destabilise the govt. This is undemocratic, people haven't given mandate to BJP to form the govt. People have given more votes to us. Both JD(S) and Congress together got more than 57% of votes."

"We are also requesting the Speaker to take legal action under the anti defection law. We are requesting him in our letter to not only disqualify them but also bar them from contesting election for 6 years," Siddaramaiah added.

The Karnataka Assembly has 225 members, including one nominated MLA. The halfway mark in the 225-member assembly is 113. Before the latest spate of resignations, the Congress had 78 MLAs, the JD(S) 37 and the BJP 105. The Congress-JD(S) coalition effectively had the support of 119 MLAs in an Assembly where the halfway mark was 113.