BENGALURU: Speaker S Ramesh Kumar’s decision to seek clarification from the eight MLAs regarding their resignations and also consider complaints against them before a final decision is made, has not gone down well with the rebels.
State JDS president and MLA AH Vishwanath has questioned the Speaker’s intentions and powers, as the latter had mentioned that they would take into account petitions filed by Congress leaders too.
In an interaction with TNIE, Vishwanath expressed his resentment towards the Speaker, as well as the rebel group mulling moving the Supreme Court in order to direct the Speaker to act in accordance with the law.
Although Vishwanath clarified that they had full faith in the Speaker, as he is also aware of poor governance, they expected he would go by the rule book, and that he should look at whether the resignations were being made voluntarily or under pressure.
“He (Speaker) has no business to look into the complaints, as these leaders were not involved in anti-party activities,” said Vishwanath, adding that this extreme step was being taken due to the failure of the coalition government. “The Speaker putting resignation papers on hold has made us express our apprehensions before the apex court,” he said.
Thanking former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda for helping him with his ‘political rebirth’, Vishwanath clarified that while he has no issues with the JDS supremo, but only his family. “Continued dominance of the family along with Revanna’s hand in almost all departments made the rebel MLAs say ‘enough is enough’. Neither were we heard nor taken seriously by both Gowda and Kumaraswamy.”
He said that Deve Gowda should have directed his son Kumaraswamy to step down rather than continue with the drama going on to bring governance to a halt, as well as tarnish the image of Karnataka, known for its rich political history.
Maintaining that he has been an ardent follower of D Devaraj Urs and has supported the Congress all his life, those who jumped to join hands to form the JDS-BJP government back in 2006, have no right to question his commitment to secularism. “We want to end family-centric politics in Karnataka and bring about a stable government that is dedicated to development.”
He lauded the BJP for its role in bringing about development, schemes and for focusing on improving the quality of education. “How long can we hide the truth by pointing fingers at the BJP?” he questioned, adding that many others would come out in support of the BJP once they see its numbers rise.