Disqualification of 17 Karnataka rebel MLAs upheld; can fight bypolls

New Delhi/Bengaluru : The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the disqualification of the 17 Congress-JD(S) MLAs in Karnataka whose rebellion led to the fall of the Kumaraswamy government and the return of the BJP to power in July but gave some relief by allowing them to contest the upcoming bypolls to 15 Assembly seats.

As the court struck down the portion of the order of the then Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar by which the legislators were disqualified till the end of the current term of the state Assembly in 2023. Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwathnarayan said the disqualified MLAs will join the BJP on Thursday in Bengaluru after they expressed interest to be part of the saffron party.

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa welcomed the verdict and said it was against the "conspiracy" of Ramesh Kumar and Congress leader Siddaramaiah. But the Congress said the verdict proved that the BJP-led government in the State was "illegal" and sought its dismissal.

While KPCC President Dinesh Gundu Rao asked the BJP not to give tickets to the disqualified legislators if it has "any morality left," Siddaramaiah said the court's stand was that defection was "immoral" and "violation of trust of the voter".

Expressing confidence that the BJP will win all the 15 seats at stake, Yediyurappa said the party would decide on giving tickets to the disqualified MLAs. The top court gave its verdict on petitions filed by the disqualified MLAs challenging the orders of Ramesh Kumar to disqualify them.

Ramesh Kumar disqualified the 17 legislators--14 from the Congress and three from the JD(S)--ahead of the trust vote on July 23. The then chief minister H D Kumaraswamy resigned after losing the trust vote, which paved the way for the BJP-led government in the state under B S Yediyurappa.

Bypolls to 15 out of the 17 assembly seats which fell vacant following the disqualification of the MLAs are scheduled on December 5 and candidates are required to file their nomination papers between November 11 and November 18.