Resignations not in order

Bengaluru: Karnataka Speaker Ramesh Kumar on Tuesday said that out of 13 resignations his office had received, eight were not according to law.

Kumar said that he has written to the Governor that none of the rebel MLAs have met him. He also said that he has given them time to present themselves in front of him to make their case.

According to the Speaker, the MLAs have not given letters as per law. He said that 5 MLAs have been given time to explain their case. At 3pm on July 12, Anand Singh and Narayan Gowda have been asked to come.

At 4pm on July 15, Pratapgoud Patil, Gopalaiah and Ramalinga Reddy have been called by the Speaker. Kumar earlier said, "I have to make a conscious decision.

Every step I take will become history. So, I can't be committing a mistake. Future generations should not look at me like an accused".

The Karnataka drama may not end anytime soon. However, it is looking increasingly difficult for Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy to stay on in power in the state as more and more MLAs are turning out to be rebels.

Twelve MLAs didn't turn up for the Congress Legislative Party meeting on Tuesday morning and later in the day Roshan Baig resigned. The Congress which for a long time was showing a brave face that they will get their MLAs back have now changed tact.

They have urged Speaker to disqualify the MLAs without taking their resignations. However, Congress' problem is compounded by the fact that more MLAs are likely to jump the shift.

Former Karnataka CM and leader of Congress Legislative Party Siddaramaiah said, "Karnataka Congress is seeking disqualification of members for their anti-party activity. They colluded with the BJP.

I request them to come back & withdraw their resignations. We've decided to file petition before the Speaker to disqualify them & request him to not accept the resignations."

He further said, "We are also requesting the Speaker to take legal action under the anti-defection law. We are requesting him in our letter to not only disqualify them but also bar them from contesting election for 6 years."

Senior Congress leaders, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, are rushing to Karnataka to salvage the situation. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday again reiterated BJP's stance that they have nothing to do with this issue.