Legislature party leader has right to impose whip, welcome speaker's decision: K'tka Cong

Karnataka Congress on Monday hailed the assembly speaker's assertions regarding whip on party MLAs and stated that the legislature party leader has right to impose a whip on party MLAs.

Karnataka Congress tweeted, "We welcome the decision of the Speaker to recognize that the leader of the Legislature party has the right to impose a whip on party's MLAs."

The party also outlined that their legislators who vote against the government are entitled for disqualification.

"The same is said by the Constitution and the defection law. INC-JDS legislators who voted against the government are entitled to disqualification", he said.

Earlier during today's session, Karnataka Assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar took a dig at the politics of defection in Karnataka "

"I am worried about the people of Karnataka who have voted them to power. They will be left without an MLA. If the ruling party has documentary evidence, please submit it to me. If you do not have, then I'll have to expunge it from the records," he said.

Senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah also said that while it is up to the Assembly Speaker to take a call on a confidence motion they have also filed a petition in the Supreme Court.

The Congress-JDS government fell into a minority earlier this month following the resignation of several dissident MLAs. Sixteen MLAs from the ruling coalition including thirteen Congress and three JD(S) MLAs have resigned.