K'taka speaker disqualifies 14 more rebel MLAs

Karnataka assembly speaker K R Ramesh addresses a press conference in Bengaluru. Photograph: ANI

New Delhi, July 28 (PTI): Karnataka assembly speaker K R Ramesh Kumar on Sunday disqualified 14 more rebel MLAs under the anti-defection act till the end of the current term of the assembly in 2023.

The 14 MLAs who had resigned earlier this month include Pratapgouda Patil, BC Patil, Shivaram Hebbar, ST Somashekhar, BA Basavaraja, Anand Singh, R Roshan Baig, Munirathna, K Sudhakar, MTB Nagaraj, AH Vishwanath, K Gopalaiah, Narayana Gowda and Shrimanth Patil.

The speaker's ruling came a day ahead of chief minister B S Yediyurappa moving the confidence motion in the assembly to prove his majority, after assuming office on Friday.

Of the lawmakers who faced the action, 11 are from the Congress and three from the Janata Dal-Secular.

"I have used my judicial conscience," said Kumar, who had earlier disqualified three Congress rebel MLAs on Thursday and said he would make the pronouncement of his decision in the remaining cases in a "couple of days."

The Congress and the JDS, whose government collapsed on Tuesday last after a rebellion by a section of their MLAs, had petitioned the speaker to disqualify their errant members.