The Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition in Karnataka got a breather on Tuesday with the Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh seeking more time to decide on the resignations of the 12 legislators.

In another development, the suspended senior Congress leader R Roshan Baig submitted his resignation letter to the Speaker.

The Speaker said he has sought more time as he does not want to set a wrong precedent. “I have to make a conscious decision. Every step I take will become history, so I can’t be committing a mistake. Future generations should not look at me like I am an accused,” Kumar said.

However, the move is clearly seen in political circles as buying time for the ruling coalition to keep its flock together and reach out to the rebel MLAs to reconsider their decision to quit their Assembly seat.

Ramesh Kumar said of the 13 Congress and three JD(S) MLAs, who had put in their papers, the papers of only eight of them were in order.

He told reporters that after scrutinising the papers, only the resignation letters submitted by Congress members Anand Singh (Vijayanagara), Pratap Gouda Patil (Maski), Ramalinga Reddy (BTM Layout) and that of JD(S) members K Gopalaiah (Mahalakshmi Layout) and Narayana Gowda (KR Pete) were in order and in prescribed format. He has summoned them to appear before him personally on July 12 and 15, he said.

While the resignation papers of the others were not in order, he has asked them also to meet him The members are: Ramesh Jarakiholi (Gokak), Mahesh Kumathalli (Athani), BC Patil (Hirekerur), H Vishwanath (Hunsur), ST Somashekar (Yeshwanthpur), Byrathi Basavaraj (KR Puram), Shivaram Hebbar (Yellapur) and Munirathna (Rajarajeshwarinagara), he said.

CLP seeks disqualification

Earlier in the day, sending a strong message to the rebel MLAs, the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) which met in Bengaluru has decided to seek the disqualification of the MLAs who have tendered resignations to the Speaker.

Briefing reporters after the CLP meet, Former Chief Minister, JD(S)-Congress coordination panel chief and CLP leader Siddaramaiah said the party is seeking the disqualification of rebel MLAs who have resigned. At the same time, Congress has also requested the 10 MLAs who had resigned to return to the party-fold or face disqualification.

“The resignations are not voluntary and genuine”, said Siddaramaiah and accused the BJP ofdestabilising the elected government in Karnataka. “Ever since the coalition government took over, the BJP is trying to destabilise it. This is their sixth attempt,” he said.

Later Congress MLAs staged a dharna near the Gandhi statue in the Vidhana Soudha complex.

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