Legislative Assembly Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar, who disqualified 14 Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) MLAs on Sunday, said he had been behaving consistently and in a specified manner over the last few days.
Defending his decision to disqualify the legislators, the Speaker said: “This cannot be drama. On Thursday night, when I disqualified three legislators, I promised to deliver order on the rest of them in a couple of days, which I have done now.”
Mr. Ramesh Kumar, who broke down earlier over the death of former Union Minister Jaipal Reddy, whom he referred to as a mentor and friend, said that political developments over the last few days had pushed him to depression. “Mr. Reddy had a role in bringing the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution,” he said. On the disqualification, he said: “I have decided to protect my honour and discharge my responsibility. This (announcement of the decision) could be the last stage of my over four decades of public life.”
When his attention was drawn towards the appeal by rebels over his decision in the Supreme Court, he said: “I have done by job. Why should I be worried.”