Day before trust vote, Karnataka Speaker disqualifies 14 more rebel MLAs

Bengaluru, July 28: A day before B S Yeddyurappa takes the teust vote, Speaker Ramesh Kumar disqulified 14 rebel MLAs.

The move comes three days after the Speaker disqualified 3 MLAs. With this the strength of the 225 member house comes down to 208. The BJP has 105 members and is perched beyond the majority mark. The speaker disqulified 11 Congress and 3 JD(S) MLAs. Among those disqualified are Shrimant Patil whose pictures lying on a stretcher at a Mumbai hospital had surfaced.

On Thursday, Kumar on Thursday disqualified three rebel MLAs under the anti-defection law.

Kumar held that the resignation by the MLAs were "not voluntary and genuine" and therefore proceeded to disqualify them under the anti-defection law with immediate effect till the end of the term of the current House in 2023.