BENGALURU: Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar on Thursday issued a notice to Umesh Jadhav, who quit Congress and joined BJP, and three rebel Congress MLAs --Ramesh Jarkiholi, Mahesh Kumtalli and B Nagendra. He asked them to appear before him on March 12.The notice comes following a petition filed by Congress leader Siddaramaiah against them. Jadhav resigned as Chincholi MLA, four days ago, but his resignation has still not been accepted by the Speaker.
In a chat with TNIE, when asked about his resignation, Jadhav said, he had the freedom to resign. “We are not bonded labourers,” he said. The petition to disqualify him is before the Speaker. Asked if it bothered him, he said he was not worried. On consulting the legal experts, he said he had consulted them and was told there were no grounds to proceed legally against him.
Asked if Siddaramaiah’s statement about him receiving Rs 25-30 crore as a part of Operation Kamala had negatively affected him in the constituency, Jadhav said, “Why do I need money? I receive Rs 1.5 lakh as pension after being a government doctor. All this is being done to tarnish my name.’’
About his joining the BJP, he said he was happy. On whether he felt bad that they did not accord him the honour of a `leader,’ joining a new party, Jadhav said, “No. In fact, I was the one accorded the honour of garlanding PM Modi. I was seated on the stage in the front row, along with Union ministers and MPs. I understand there are certain protocols.”