Bengaluru, Jul 25: Karnataka assembly speaker K R Ramesh Kumar, who is yet to decide on the resignation and disqualification of the rebel Congress-JD(S) MLAs, said on Thursday that he would use his discretion and uphold the faith the Supreme Court has placed in him.
He said there was no further opportunity for the rebel MLAs to appear before him and it was a closed chapter now, adding, "law is same for everyone whether it is a labourer or President of India."
"Yes..the court has left to my discretion (to decide on resignation), I have discretion, I will work accordingly and will uphold the faith that the Supreme Court has expressed in me," Kumar said.
Stating that there was no more option for MLAs to appear before him, he said that process was over.
"I had called them and they did not come, their lawyers had come and have said what they had to, it is a closed chapter," he added.
The BJP is not in a hurry to stake claim to form the government in Karnataka as the fate of 15 rebel MLAs, who are from the Congress-JD(S) coalition, hangs in the balance with the state assembly speaker yet to take a call on either their resignations or the two parties' plea to disqualify them.
Not specifying the next course of action, Kumar in response to a question said, when MLAs resign according to article 190 (3)(b) and 35th amendment to the Constitution, the speaker can call them for inquiry.
"I had called, they did not appear, that's all."
Asked if he would be issuing another notice to MLAs, he said, "don't I have any work...I had given once, they didn't come, there ends the matter. Law is the same for every one from a labourer to President to me, there is no separate constitution for everyone."
A delegation of senior BJP leaders had met the speaker Wednesday to discuss the finance bill that is to be passed by the assembly before July 31.
Responding to a question on BJP meeting him, Kumar said, "they had come--today date is 25 (July), by 31st if we don't pass the Finance bill government will come to a standstill and we will not be in a position to even pay salaries, such a necessity has come, what to do?"
"I have said, as soon as the government is formed and whenever those forming the government say the assembly should be convened, within 48 hours we will call a session, so that the work can go on," he added.
The 14-month-old Congress-JD(S) coalition government headed by H D Kumaraswamy collapsed on Tuesday after losing the vote of confidence in the assembly in a climax to the three-week-long intense power struggle.
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