Resignation of rebel MLAs: Can't work at lightning speed, says Speaker

Notwithstanding a Supreme Court order Karnataka Assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar on Thursday ruled out any immediate decision on the resignation of rebel MLAs in the crisishit ruling JDSCongress coalition saying he cannot be expected to work at lightning speedAs suspense mounted on the Speakers course of action after 10 dissident MLAs appeared before him following the court order and submitted their resignations afresh for acceptance Kumar said the letters were in the right format but he will have to examine whether they are voluntary and genuineThe 10 MLAs who were flown in by two special flights to Bengaluru from Mumbai took a luxury bus from the HAL airport in the heart of the city to the Vidhana Soudha the state secretariat amid tight security Sources said the rebel MLAs will be returning to Mumbai where they were holed up in a luxury hotel for the past few days since the crisis erupted last SaturdayIn all 16 MLAs 13 from Congress and three from JDS have quit pushing the coalition government to the brink of collapse Two independent MLAs have also withdrawn support to the 13monthold coalition governmentAfter the Congress the JDS said the party too has approached the Speaker seeking disqualification of three of its legislators The apex court earlier in the day asked the Speaker to decide forthwith about the resignation of 10 rebel MLAs allowing them to meet him at 6 pmA Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said the decision taken by the Speaker has to be intimated on Friday when the court takes up the plea by the rebel MLAs The bench comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose also directed the Karnataka DGP to provide protection to the 10 MLAs from Bengaluru airport to the Assembly after their arrival from MumbaiIn the order passed the bench said Having regard to the facts of the case we permit the petitioners rebel MLAs ten in number to appear before the Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly at 600 pm todayWe request the Speaker to grant an audience to the ten petitioners at the said time The petitioners if they so wish and are so inclined shall intimate the Speaker of the Assembly their decision to resign in which event the Speaker shall take a decision forthwith and in any case in the course of the remaining part of the dayIt further said that such decision of the Speaker as may be taken in terms of the present order be laid before the Court tomorrow Friday July 12Hours after the order was passed the Speaker through his counsel rushed to the apex court for modification of the direction asking him to decide the issue of the resignation in the course of the dayHowever the bench which assembled after the lunch break told the Speakers counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi that the order has already been passed in the morning and his application will be taken up Friday along with the plea of the rebel MLAsChief Minister H D Kumaraswamy rejected demands by the BJP for his resignation as the state Cabinet met and resolved to face the situation bravely and withstand it unitedly Why should I resign What is the necessity for me to resign now Kumaraswamy shot back at reporters amid speculation he could put in his papers in the wake of the crisisAsserting he will abide by rules Speaker Kumar said he will take a just decision which may be of convenience to some and inconvenience to someThe Supreme Court has not asked me to decide in any particular manner he addedThe MLAs had come they said they want to resign I said they can givethey asked me to accept it It cannot be like that I will have to see whether it is genuine or voluntary and be convinced Kumar told reporters after meeting the disgruntled legislatorsKumar said the proceedings of today have been videographed and will be sent to the Supreme Court Registrar General Court has asked me to come to a decision I have written to them SC about the word forthwith they have said I am unable to understand what to decide as Constitution says something else so I have given them MLAs time to appear before meShould I have worked at lightning speed For whose sake What about the rules the people I only live by the ConstitutionI am not acting in haste My obligation is to the people of this state and the Constitution he said The process is not about who is to be saved and who is to be persecuted That is not my job as a SpeakerAs per the Karnataka Legislature Rules intended resignation should be in perfect format he saidUnfortunately eight of the 13 letters that reached my office last week were not in the format the speaker said Suspended Congress MLA Roshan Bagi had also quit earlier this weekMLAs have submitted resignation in the right format now I will have to examine whether resignations are voluntary and genuine he added I will have to think all nightCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get the latest updates