Bengaluru: The JD(S) on Thursday submitted a petition before assembly speaker K B Koliwad, requesting him not to allow its seven rebel MLAs to cast their votes in the March 23 Rajya Sabha elections. JD(S) MLAs B B Ningaiah and C N Balakrishna requested the speaker to hear their petition seeking disqualification of the rebel MLAs on Friday or Saturday, besides issuing a direction to rebels not to participate in the election.
“It is a matter of great urgency as these rebel MLAs have already made their stand public that they will vote for one of the Congress candidates in the Rajya Sabha elections,” the petition states. “If that happens, it will result in a Constitutional crisis on account of inaction of your office.”
The JD(S) has sought disqualification of the seven MLAs after they voted for Congress candidate K C Ramamurthy in the last Rajya Sabha election, violating the party’s whip. A similar petition has been pending before the speaker since then.
The JD(S) is making all-out efforts to ensure its nominee, B M Farook, sails through the March 23 election. The Congress, which can win two seats easily, has fielded a third candidate, thwarting Farook’s chances. The JD(S) hopes to stop its rebel MLAs from voting, making it difficult for the Congress to win the third seat.
Meanwhile, legal experts maintain that the JD(S) is unlikely to get any relief as there are several loopholes in the anti-defection law. Moreover, the speaker has discretionary powers over such matters and cannot be forced to pass an order.
“Nobody can issue direction to speaker on such issues,” said senior advocate H S Chandramouli. “Moreover, once the calendar of events for any elections is announced, technically speaking, no orders, like the one JD(S) is seeking, can be passed. So I don’t think this matter will see any logical end.”
However, Ramesh Babu, JD(S) spokesperson and MLC, said: “We know the speaker has discretion in such matters. All we are requesting him to do is pass an order on our petition, no matter what his decision is. Sitting on a petition without taking a decision is not a good democratic practice.”
