3 rebel MLAs summoned by Assembly Speaker fail to turn up

Bengaluru, July 12: Three rebel Congress and JDS MLAs failed to appear before Karnataka Assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar on Friday as sought by him for a personal hearing over their resignations, official sources said.

The Speaker had on July 9 asked the three MLAs to appear before him at his office between 3 pm and 4 pm Friday for a personal hearing.

The MLAs are Narayana Gowda of JDS and Anand Singh and Prathap Gouda Patil of Congress.

However, none of them turned up, the sources said.

While Gowda and Patil remained in Mumbai along with other rebels, Singh is learnt to have left for Goa.

Earlier in the day, the Speaker told reporters that I will start the process if they come..."

The three MLAs are part of the first batch of 13 legislators of the ruling Congress-JDS combine who resigned from the assembly last Saturday, dealing a blow to the coalition government. Later, three other MLAs quit.

Ramesh Kumar had held that the resignation letters of only five out of the 13 MLAs were in proper format. Besides that of Gowda, Patil and Singh, the letters of K Gopaliah (JDS) and Ramalinga Reddy (Congress) were found in order.

He had then fixed July 15 for hearing Gopaliah and Reddy while asking others to submit their resignations properly.

Ten MLAs who moved the Supreme Court alleging that the Speaker was not accepting their resignations had appeared before him Thursday as directed by the court and submitted resignations afresh.

After the MLAs met him, the Speaker ruled out any immediate decision on the resignation.

When the matter came up for hearing Friday, the apex court restrained the Speaker from taking any decision on the resignations as well as disqualification of the MLAs till July 16.