Putting an end to the uncertainty that lasted nearly a month, Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar on Monday accepted the resignation of Umesh Jadhav from the Legislative Assembly.
Mr. Jadhav gave up the MLA seat from Chincholi, won on Congress ticket, to join the Bharatiya Janata Party, which subsequently declared him its candidate for the Lok Sabha elections from Kalaburagi to take on veteran Congress leader M. Mallikarjun Kharge.
“Mr. Jadhav’s resignation has been accepted as per my own judicial conscience,” the Speaker stated in an order issued on Monday. “I am convinced that it [the resignation] was a decision taken by him on his own, without succumbing to any pressure or inducement.”
In an obvious reference to the long time taken by him to accept the resignation, which was submitted on March 4, the Speaker pointed out that various procedures had to be followed as Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah had sought Mr. Jadhav’s disqualification. He listed the legal processes followed by him, including the holding of hearings, seeking of clarifications, and filing of affidavit by Mr. Jadhav.
He observed that judgment and justice often do not go together in India’s judicial system. “Those holding constitutional posts only have the power to deliver judgments, not to establish truth. Judgment is based on evidence. It is very difficult to get legal protection for morality and moral stands,” Mr. Kumar stated.
The acceptance of his resignation came as a relief for Mr. Jadhav, who thanked the Speaker for not buckling under any pressure in dealing with the matter.
“Everything was clear and valid in my resignation. I had expected that it would be accepted within 24 hours. But the pressure from my political opponents apparently prevented the Speaker from acting upon it swiftly. I have thanked Mr. Ramesh Kumar for having accepted my resignation without succumbing to the pressure. My political rivals created confusion among people by spreading rumours that my resignation would not be accepted. With its clearance from the Speaker, I will go to the polls with more clarity and confidence,” he said.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president Dinesh Gundu Rao said the Congress would not pursue the matter any longer. “When the Speaker has accepted his resignation, so why would we want to pursue it further? We had petitioned the Speaker seeking his disqualification. But now the Speaker has accepted his resignation. So we will leave it at that.”