Call it political irony or quirk of fate, the court verdict on the fate of five disqualified independent MLAs could now dash the ministerial dreams of Varthur Prakash, another independent MLA.
Call it political irony or quirk of fate, the court verdict on the fate of five disqualified independent MLAs could now dash the ministerial dreams of Varthur Prakash, another independent MLA.
The arguments in the case took an interesting turn on Tuesday when the full bench of high court comprising justice Mohan Shantanagoudar, justice S Abdul Nazeer and justice AS Bopanna sought to know from the BJP’s counsel how a coalition government works.
Sathya Paul Jain, the counsel representing BJP chief whip DN Jeevaraj, and MLA CT Ravi clarified that in a coalition government, the members belong to a particular party. The character of independent MLAs will be lost if they join any other party. They should resign as independent candidate and then join the cabinet.
The counsel said that Prakash, who is supporting the BJP government, could also face disqualification in case he becomes a minister as he will lose his status as an independent candidate.
The counsel said, “It’s not a coalition government. It’s a BJP government. These disqualified MLAs had been attending BJP legislature party meetings and they had lost their ‘independent’ character.”
Jain submitted that the five disqualified MLAs went to meet the governor to submit withdrawal letter along with 11 BJP rebels. Their ‘pleadings’ were same and their reply to the speaker’s showcause notice was ‘almost identical’. “They (the five disqualified MLAs) were part and parcel of the BJP,” he said.
Pointing to the independent MLAs statement that they withdrew support to Yeddyurappa in the interest of the BJP, Jain observed that only BJP members were ‘interested’ in the party’s interest and not others.
He argued that the speaker’s order cannot be subjected to judicial review and there was no bar on voters from filing petitions before the speaker. The counsel also clarified that the seven-day notice does not meant that a minimum of seven days time should be given to them. A speaker’s action is always subject to the circumstances of the prevailing situation of that time, he submitted.
The full bench later sought a constitutional debate on the independents’ role in the assembly. It further adjourned the case to January 27. The full bench observed that the arguments can continue on that day and should be closed by January 28.
The five independents had challenged their disqualification on the grounds that they did not attract the provisions of anti-defection law as they were elected as independents and never joined the BJP.
D Sudhakara, PM Narendraswamy, M Venkataramanappa, Goolihatti Shekar and Shivaraj Tangadagi were disqualified on October 10 by speaker KG Bopaiah after they, along with 11 BJP rebel MLAs, withdrew support to the BS Yeddyurappa government. The disqualification came just before chief minister Yeddyurappa sought a trust vote.
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