New Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday welcomed the Supreme Court's verdict upholding an order of former Karnataka Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar disqualifying 17 Karnataka MLAs of Congress and JD(S) in July last.
The apex court, however, struck down their term of disqualification, which, according to an earlier order, would have ended only in 2023.
In an interaction with the ETV Bharat here, BJP General Secretary P Muralidhar Rao said that the party welcomes the verdict as they would now be able to contest the upcoming by-elections, scheduled for next month.
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On Congress criticizing BJP for allegedly luring the MLAs to switch sides, he said "denouncing the BJP every now and then won't help Congress to stop its disintegration".
Right after the Supreme Court verdict on the issue earlier in the day, the Congress blasted BS Yediyurappa-led BJP government in Karnataka and termed it "illegal".
Kumar had disqualified the 17 legislators of the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition before the trust vote in July, which made then chief minister HD Kumaraswamy to resign.
It also paved the way for the BJP-led government under BS Yediyurappa in the state.
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