Have confidence that good sense will prevail and MLAs will not leave party : DK Shivakumar

Congress leader and Karnataka Irrigation Minister D K Shivakumar, who is back in Bengaluru after a failed trip to Mumbai to meet and placate the rebel MLAs staying there, on Thursday expressed his optimism that "good sense will prevail" and the dissidents will withdraw their resignations.

"I have confidence that they will have good sense and not leave party from which they have been elected," said Shivakumar at Vidhana Soudha here today.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy also reached the Vidhan Soudha and both leaders had a brief interaction.

The Supreme Court had this morning allowed the 10 rebel MLAs of the Congress and the JD(S) in Karnataka to appear before the Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly at 6 pm today to tender their resignations. The Speaker is required to decide on the resignations today itself.

The order was passed by a bench headed by the Chief Justice after the dissident MLAs had knocked the doors of the apex court challenging the delay by the Speaker of the State Assembly in accepting their resignations.

The Apex Court said they will be provided with police protection when they land in Bengaluru from Mumbai.

"As per the provisions of Article 190, any legislator can tender their resignation, after which Speaker will have a right to have an enquiry and decide on that. The resignation should be voluntarily and genuine," said VS Ugrappa, Congress lawyer and party worker.

"Courts have no jurisdiction in regard to disqualification of a legislator that is why the Supreme Court made a request not an order. Ultimately it is the domain of Speaker to decide about their disqualification," he said.

All the ten dissident legislators of Congress and JD(S) who were staying at a hotel in Mumbai have left for Karnataka.

The 13-month-old Congress-JDS government had on Saturday slumped into crisis following the resignation of MLAs.

The 225-member state Assembly includes one nominated MLA. The halfway mark is 113.