Karnataka government on brink, all eyes on Speaker

On the issue of the resignations given by 18 MLAs in Karnataka which led the government to fall apart, the constitution expert Subhash Kashyap said that the Speaker has no choice except to grant those resignations if he finds that the resignations are voluntary.

New Delhi: After 18 MLAs submitting their resignations, the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government in Karnataka is on the brink of collapse. The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the rebel MLA's to meet the Speaker K R Ramesh on Thursday.

The rebel lawmakers on Wednesday approached the apex court against the Speaker's decision to not accept their resignations and sought an urgent hearing on the matter.

In this matter, the constitution expert Subhash Kashyap said, "The provision in regard to the resignation of MLAs is that whether he should give his resignation personally to the Speaker or if he sends it by post or otherwise delivers it to the Speaker's office, the speaker has to satisfy himself that the resignation is voluntary and not under any force or pressure."

"If the speaker is satisfied that the resignation is voluntary then he has to accept it, if he finds that it is not voluntary then he can reject it," added Subhash Kashyap.

The current situation in the political scenario of Karnataka is that the strength of the coalition government in the House is 117 with 79 Congress MLAs and 97 JD(S) MLAs.

While asking to the expert, what if both sides get an equal number of MLAs while proving majority government, he said that this is too hypothetical to think like this, but the provision in the constitution is that the speaker has the option of the casting vote. If the voting will be equal on both sides then the speaker has to go with the casting vote."