Rebel Karnataka MLAs move SC; Accuse speaker of 'abandoning his constitutional duty'

The beleaguered JD(S)-Congress coalition government in Karnataka Tuesday got a breather with state Assembly Speaker holding that the resignations of 8 out of 13 rebel MLAs are not in order on a day when another Congress legislator quit the party.

New Delhi: Soon after 8 out of 13 rebel Karnataka MLAs’ resignation letters were rejected by speaker, citing “They are not in order” as a reason; All the agitated MLAs knocked the doors of the Supreme Court on Wednesday with the complaint against the speaker K R Ramesh Kumar. In their complaint, the rebel MLAs have accused the speaker of abandoning his constitutional duty and deliberately delaying acceptance of their resignations. The apex Court is set to hear the matter on Thursday. The beleaguered JD(S)-Congress coalition government in Karnataka Tuesday got a breather with state Assembly Speaker holding that the resignations of 9 out of 14 rebel MLAs are not in order on a day when another Congress legislator quit the party. The fate of the 13-month-old JD(S)-Congress government led by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is hinged on the Speaker's decision on the resignation of the 14 MLAs including Shivajinagar MLA R Roshan Baig who joined the bandwagon of dissidents on Tuesday. A total of 13 MLAs--10 of the Congress and 3 of the JD(S)--submitted their resignation to the Speaker's office on Saturday triggering a fresh political crisis. Speaker Kumar told reporters that the resignation letters of 9 out of 14 MLAs of the ruling coalition were not in the prescribed format and he has asked them to submit them properly. The Speaker said he will go through the rule book and consult seniors about the developments, whether the resignations can be accepted or a different course of action was needed.