HC reserves orders on debarring rebel MLAs

The Karnataka High Court today reserved judgement on the issue of disqualification of 11 rebel legislators of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

When the court resumed hearing on the petitions by 11 rebel BJP MLAs challenging their disqualification from the Assembly by Speaker K G Bopaiah after their withdrawal of support to the B S Yeddyurappa government, here this morning, counsels for petitioners, Ravi Varma Kumar, K G Raghavan and B V Acharya continued their arguments. Soli Sorabjee and Satyapal Jain, senior advocate from Punjab argued on behalf of the chief minister Yeddyurappa.

Justice V G Sabahit heard the petitions after a division bench delivered a split verdict.

Speaking to reporters after the court proceedings, Satyapal Jain said, “Justice V G Sabahit has reserved the orders on the reference, which was sent to him by the division bench of the Karnataka high court to decide the issue whether the conduct of the rebel MLAs deserves disqualification from the speaker. After hearing arguments from both the sides the opinion on the point has been reserved by the honourable judge. Now, it is left to the judge to pronounce the orders whenever he wants.”

The 11 MLAs and five independents were disqualified by the Speaker on October 10, a day before the trust vote sought by Yeddyurappa, heading the BJP’s first ever government in the south. The first confidence motion, carried by a voice vote, was declared unconstitutional by Governor H R Bhardwaj who initially recommended imposition of President’s rule but later asked the chief minister to seek a fresh trust vote, which he did on October 14.

A new division bench would decide the petition by five independent MLAs on November 2. The court had said earlier that the October 14 trust vote was subject to its verdict on the petitions by independents.

Meanwhile, one more MLA from Congress submitted resignation to his membership of the legislature. Speaker K G Bopaiah has accepted the resignation of M Narayanaswamy, MLA from Bangarpet constituency with effect from October 20, 2010. He is the third from the opposition parties to resign from the assembly in a week’s time. With this the strength of Opposition Congress in the state assembly has been reduced to 71 and that of the JD (S) to 27 from 28 in the 224-member assembly with the BJP having 106 members including the Speaker.

S V Ramachandra, who represented Congress from Jagalur constituency, had quit yesterday, while on last Friday JD(S) MLA from Chennapatna M C Ashwath resigned from the house. Last evening, apprehending desertion of some of their legislators to the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress leaders and MLAs laid siege to Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa’s residence and asked the ruling party not to indulge in “Operation Lotus” which it alleged was directed at poaching opposition MLAs to remain in power.

The Legislative Committee appointed by Bopaiah to go into the unruly scenes during the trust vote on October 11, today issued notices to 15 MLAs belonging to Opposition Congress and JD(S). The committee, headed by BJP MLA Appachu Ranjan, in its notice, has asked these MLAs to appear before it on October 28, Legislature secretariat sources said.