Speaker disqualifies 2 Congress rebel MLAs, an independent till 2023

Bengaluru: Karnataka Assembly speaker K R Ramesh Kumar on Thursday disqualified two Congress rebel MLAs and an Independent legislator till the end of the term of current House in 2023.

Giving his ruling, the Speaker said he would take a decision on the remaining 14 cases in a “couple of days.”

Kumar said members disqualified under the anti-defection law cannot contest or get elected to the assembly till the end of the term of the House.

He said he was convinced that the resignations by the three members were not voluntary and genuine and he had therefore rejected them and proceeded to disqualify them under the anti-defection law.

“They have violated the provisions of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution (anti-defection law) and therefore are disqualified,” he said.

The speaker’s announcement came two days after the Congress-JDS coalition government headed by H D Kumaraswamy collapsed as it lost the trust vote in the assembly in the backdrop of the rebellion by a section of their MLAs.