Speaker accepts 12 BJP MLAs' resignations

Bangalore, Jan 30: Legislative Assembly Speaker K?G Boapiah on Tuesday accepted the resignation letters of 12 BJP MLAs, who owe allegiance to B?S?Yeddyurappa, thereby reducing the strength of the ruling party in the House.

The BJP government now has a wafer thin majority and can continue as long as it doesn't lose two more MLAs or manages to garner the support of the Opposition parties.

Speaker K?G?Bopaiah received the resignation of 13 BJP?MLAs, but accepted only 12, withholding one on technical grounds.

Despite the reduced strength, Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar will be able to present the Budget proposals for 2013-14 as the State government still commands a majority in the truncated Assembly which now has 211 in the House of 225 members.

Bopaiah withheld the resignation of MLA Vittal Katakatonda citing technical reasons as he made mistakes in his resignation letters twice. However, a final decision is likely to be taken on?Wednesday. It was not clear whether the MLA is keen on pressing his resignation.

The BJP?will now require 106 for a majority and has the support of 108, including 105 MLAs, one independent and one nominated member. The Speaker can exercise his vote in case of a tie. The Congress has 71 and the JD(S)?26 members, and there are five Independent MLAs who were earlier in the Yeddyurappa cabinet.

Another Yeddyurappa loyalist Tarikere Suresh is expected to resign on Wednesday as he was in Shiradi on Tuesday. The Budget session will start on ?February 4 and the BJP?will keep its fingers crossed hoping that the resignation episode ends with Suresh. If two more legislators quit the very survivability of the government will be at stake.

All the 13 MLAs who had offered to resign last week stood by Yeddyurappa but the former chief minister was not able to add more members to his camp. The 13 MLAs included four former ministers including Shobha Karandlaje, C?M?Udasi, Sunil Vyallapure and H?Halappa.

Bopaiah, who took nearly 11 hours to process the resignation letters handed over by the?MLAs, finally accepted them late in the evening. The Speaker held one-on-one meetings with the legislators through the day to ascertain whether they were resigning voluntarily and consulted legal experts.

At one point of time the legislators had even planned to hold a sit-in dharna inside the Speaker's chamber till their resignations were accepted.

The Speaker's office sought a clarification from the secretary-general of the Lok?Sabha on whether the resignation letters could be accepted at a time when a petition filed by the BJP seeking the disqualification of 11 of the 13 MLAs was pending for disposal.

The BJP on Monday filed the disqualification petition before the Speaker apparently to delay the acceptance of the resignations and thereby maintain its full strength in the Legislative Assembly at least till the conclusion of the brief Budget session. However, the move did not provide any dividends as the Speaker decided to go ahead with accepting them.

It is said the Lok Sabha Secretariat, in its communication to the Speaker's office, suggested acceptance of the resignations.

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‘Have letter, next step is...’: MUDA on Siddaramaiah’s wife’s offer to return plots

News Network

October 1,2024

Mysuru: The Mysuru land authority at the centre of a financial and political storm - involving Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and alleged losses of ₹ 45 crore to the state - has received an offer of restitution from his wife, the urban development body's Commissioner, AN Raghunandan said.

"I am in possession of a letter written by Siddaramaiah's wife regarding her intention to return 14 plots (of land). The Chief Minister's son, Yatindra Siddaramaiah, came to our office and delivered the letter. We will take legal advice for the next step..." he told reporters in Mysuru.

Mr Raghunandan also confirmed anti-corruption officials from the city's Lokayukta branch had written seeking cooperation in its inquiry into the charges against the Chief Minister.

He said the Mysuru Urban Development Authority, or MUDA, "will cooperate with the investigation".

The Enforcement Directorate, however, have not reached out as yet, Mr Raghunandan said. The ED, a federal agency, has filed a money laundering case against Siddaramaiah.

There have also been calls for the CBI, another federal agency, to investigate charges against the Chief Minister, but that appears unlikely now given the Karnataka government has withdrawn general consent for its operations in the state. Law Minister HK Patil made the announcement last week.

He ruled out any link with demands for the Chief Minister to be investigated by the CBI, which reports to the BJP-led central government and the ruling Congress and other opposition parties have claimed is being used by that party to target rival leaders, particularly before elections.

On Monday - three days after the Lokayukta filed a case against the Chief Minister, and hours after the ED launched its probe- Siddaramaiah's wife said she had planned to give up the land earlier but was advised against it the allegations against her husband are "politically motivated".

But now, she said, she had made up her mind as "no house, plot, or wealth is more important than my husband's honor, dignity, and peace of mind". She also said the decision was hers alone; "... I am not aware of my husband's opinion on this matter, nor do I concern myself with what my son thinks".

And, in a comment seen as a calculated swipe at the opposition BJP, which is leading calls for the Chief Minister's resignation, his wife also made an emotional appeal to "all political parties and the media" to "please not drag women of political families into the controversy to settle political scores".

Investigative action against the Chief Minister follows the Karnataka High Court quashing a challenge to Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot's order sanctioning Siddaramaiah's prosecution.

Subsequently a trial court ordered framing of charges and directed the Lokayukta to complete the investigation within three months. The ED case was filed based on the Lokayukta FIR.

Siddaramaiah faces an inquiry into claims Parvathi was allotted 14 plots of land in an upmarket Mysuru area as compensation for land elsewhere - holding a far lower value - taken for infrastructure projects.

The Chief Minister has denied all charges and refused calls to resign.

He has been backed by the Congress and his deputy, DK Shivakumar, who is also the state unit boss, and also by members of his cabinet, including IT Minister Priyank Kharge. However, some within the Congress also want him to quit, such as former Assembly Speaker KB Koliwad.

"I will fight. I am not afraid of anything. We are ready to face the investigation. I will fight this legally," he said last week after the High Court had quashed his challenge to the Governor's sanction.

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