New twist to Karnataka crisis: Speaker rejects resignation of 8 MLAs for not being in ‘proper format

Days after 13 Congress-JD(S) MLAs submitted their resignation from the Assembly pushing the Karnataka coalition on the brink of collapse, Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar Tuesday rejected letters of eight such legislators for not being in order and asked them to send letters as per the correct format.

The Speaker also asked five MLAs whose resignations are in order to meet him personally on Friday and Monday. Meanwhile, his office is also examining the letter of suspended Congress MLA Roshan Baig who submitted his resignation earlier in the day.

Questioned on whether the Congress legal cell had written to him that the resignations should not be accepted, Kumar said he has not seen the letter yet. “I left the office on Saturday. I came only today. Whichever cell has written, I have to go through it now,” he told journalists at the Vidhana Soudha. “Whether I will decide it today or in the next two hours, doing it two years later, these are all irrelevant questions to me. I have to respond to the sentiments of the people.”

The Speaker’s decision asking dissident MLAs to resend their resignations is likely to give some much-needed breathing time to the coalition parties as BJP looks to gain momentum over the spate of resignations.

The resignations have left the coalition with 103 MLAs in the reduced house while the BJP has 105 MLAs and the support of two independents who withdrew support to the coalition on Monday. The rebel MLAs — along with two independent MLAs — are said to be camping somewhere in Maharashtra and have most likely switched their loyalty to the BJP.