Karnataka Legislative Council chairman Shankaramurthy to decide fate of Timmapur, 7 other MLCs
BENGALURU: The future of ministerial aspirant R B Timmapur and seven other MLCs is in jeopardy as Chairman of the Legislative Council D H Shankaramurthy, against whom Congress members had recently moved a no-confidence motion, is set to take a call on their disqualification within the next few days.
Those facing the threat of disqualification are Timmapur, Raghu Achar, Allum Veerabhadrappa, N S Boseraju, S Ravi, M D Lakshminarayana (Congress), C R Manohar and Appaji Gowda JD(S).
N Manjunath Prasad, Commissioner of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, has submitted a report to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Karnataka, Anil Kumar Jha, on charges that these MLCs provided false information on their residential addresses in order to vote in the BBMP polls. They also claimed travel allowance by submitting fake bills.
According to sources, the report has confirmed the procedural lapses in the inclusion of names of the MLCs and held the Electoral Registration Officer responsible. The Election Commission had initiated a probe in July based on a complaint filed by BBMP Council leader Padmanabha Reddy seeking disqualification of these eight MLCS.
Shankaramurthy told reporters that he was yet to receive a report from the Election Commission and would seek it from Jha immediately. He will consult experts in constitutional and parliamentary affairs before taking a final decision.
Allegations of falsifying address to get voting rights and claiming TA by submitting fake bills are the first of its kind in the country and whatever the decision taken by the chair would set a precedent. “I will take a close look at all aspects of the issue before taking a decision. I will pronounce my decision at the earliest,” he said.
When asked about the merit of the case, Shankaramurthy said that more than procedural lapse, it was an ethical question.
"Claiming TA after exercising their franchise in mayoral polls by claiming that they were Bengaluru residents is unethical. One MLC had even admitted in writing that he would return the TA claimed so far,” Murthy said. However, he said that he would take a prudent decision after giving an opportunity to these MLCs to defend themselves. The Chairman wants to tread cautiously as the issue could take political colour as the members belong to the Congress and the JD(S) while he is from the BJP.
Could impact mayoral election
The decision of Council Chairman D H Shankaramurthy could prove decisive in the election of the new Mayor of Bengaluru to be held in the last week of September.
The BJP has 101 seats in BBMP (including one independent councillor supporting BJP), Congress has 76, JD(S) 14, while six independents are supporting Congress-JD(S) coalition. Though the BJP has a simple majority in the BBMP council, MLA, MLCs and MPs too have voting power for Mayor and Deputy Mayor elections. In that regard, Congress and JD(S) coaltion has managed a majority over the BJP.
Mayor G Padmavathi’s term is set to end by September end. Meanwhile, JD(S) is threatening to withdraw its support, adding to the woes of Congress.