Petition against Arun Machaiah dismissed by Council Chairman

Bangalore, June 16 (UNI) Outgoing Karnataka Legislative Council Chairman V R Sudarshan today said he has dismissed a petition against independent member Arun Machaiah, for his disqualification under the Anti-Defection law.

Mr Sudarshan, who would step down from office tomorrow following his retirement, told newspersons here that former member A K Subbaiah had on January 12 last filed a petition seeking the disqualification of Mr Machaiah, who had claimed to be a member of the Janata Dal (Secular) though he was elected as an independent from Kodagu in the election to the Council from local bodies.

However, after seeking expert and legal opinion and also the views of Mr Machaiah, he had found that the petition was non-maintainable and had dismissed it on merit. Former Prime Minister and JD(S) President H D Deve Gowda had also in a letter stated that Mr Machaiah was not a member of the party.

Mr Sudarshan, who had been re-elected to the Council from Assembly as a Congress nominee, said he was not keen on taking up the position of the Presiding Officer of the Upper House again and said he wanted to be in active politics.

He highlighted various achievements of the Council during his tenure as Chairman and Deputy Chairman and called for a national debate on setting up Upper Houses in all States. He complimented Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka for making efforts to revive the House.

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