Karnataka rebels claim they were used, say speaker played to a script
In private, many say they have been let down by their parties and the BJP, which had assured them of plum posts in the new government. But the biggest blow, they say, came from Kumar, who has barred them from contesting elections till 2023. The obvious first step is to challenge the speaker's order in the Supreme Court and the rebels are deliberating whether to move a petition collectively or in batches.
Some rebel Congress legislators are planning to "expose" senior Congress leaders and even the BJP's "chicanery" at a press conference later this week. They are expected to reveal intriguing details about their resignations and their more than 20-day getaway.
"BJP leaders had promised to make some of us ministers the day the party came to power," said a disqualified legislator. "Now we feel let down." The rebels are also furious over the way they were corralled in hotels in Maharashtra.
With the speaker's order depriving them of their right to contest byelections, the feeling in the camp is that they have been used by almost every player in the political drama that unfolded over the past few weeks.
"The speaker has played to a script," said N Munirathna, Congress MLA. "Otherwise, how can he say disqualified MLAs are barred from contesting the next elections when he knows it is incorrect? The first round of disqualifications was to threaten us. The rest of us were disqualified because we didn't relent." He denied charges that a couple of rebels tried to call Siddaramaiah in a bid to return to the Congress fold.
Munirathna was among a few rebels who left Mumbai for Bengaluru on Sunday evening. The rest are expected to reach Bengaluru on Monday or Tuesday.
The dissidents claim the biggest beneficiary of the speaker's decision is chief minister BS Yediyurappa, as it has cleared the path for the BJP leader to win the trust vote. Also, with the rebels' immediate future uncertain, cabinet expansion will now be a smoother process as Yediyurappa does not have to accommodate them.
"The disqualification order is against the law," said JD(S) rebel AH Vishwanath. "We will approach the Supreme Court on Monday against the speaker's decision," he added.
Constitution experts endorsed the dissident MLAs' stand, saying the speaker's order is not in consonance with the law. "Barring disqualified MLAs from contesting the next elections is in conflict with the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution," said B Sudarshan Reddy, Constitution expert and retired Supreme Court judge. "Since the speaker is a quasi-tribunal, his order can be challenged in a higher court."
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References
- ^ KR Ramesh Kumar (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
- ^ BJP (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
- ^ elections (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
- ^ Supreme Court (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
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