Karnataka: BJP leaders meet Speaker, seek revocation of MLAs’ suspension

A delegation of BJP leaders in Karnataka met Assembly Speaker U.T. Khader on Monday seeking revocation of the six-month suspension of 18 BJP MLAs.

On March 21, the Speaker had suspended the BJP legislators for showing “disrespect” to the Speaker’s chair during a protest demanding a judicial inquiry into the honey-trapping attempt alleged by Cooperation Minister K.N. Rajanna in the House.

Leader of Opposition R. Ashok who led the delegation said they had urged the Speaker to cancel the suspension stating a six-month-long suspension was uncalled for and also barring the suspended MLAs from attending House committee meetings and denying them TA and DA for the period was “unfair”.

“We have explained to the Speaker that the long suspension is not right and sought revocation of the order. We clarified that we did not mean to disrespect the chair. He heard us and also sounded positive and assured us that he would discuss the matter with the state government,” said Ashok.

It may be recalled that the BJP legislators had torn copies of the financial bill during the recent budget session, after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah refused to yield to their demand for a judicial probe into honey-trap case, and rushed to the Speaker’s podium and flung them in the air. Subsequently, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil passed a motion seeking suspension of the 18 MLAs—BJP chief whip Doddanagouda Patil, former Deputy CM C N Ashwath Narayan, S.R. Vishwanath, B.A. Basavaraju, M R Patil, Channabasappa, B. Suresh Gowda, Umanath Kotyan, Sharanu Salagar, Shailendra Beldale, C.K. Ramamurthy, Yashpal Suvarna, B.P. Harish, Bharath Shetty, Dheeraj Muniraju, Chandru Lamani, Muniratna and Basavaraj Mattimud, which was adopted by the House.

Assembly Speaker U.T. Khader, justifying his decision had said that the Speaker’s chair was a “symbol of democracy” and the action of the BJP legislators was “condemnable”.

BJP MLA S.R. Vishwanath, who was part of the delegation, said that they had met the Speaker and discussed the issue with him before taking a call on seeking a legal remedy.

“We told the Speaker it was unfair to suspend the members for doing their duty as the opposition. Also, the Supreme Court has struck down such long suspensions. This suspension will not stand the legal scrutiny. We reminded the Speaker about it,” said Vishwanath.

One of the suspended BJP MLAs, Byrati Basavaraju, said, “The Speaker has heard our plea and assured us that he would discuss the issue with LOP and the Assembly secretary and convey his decision.”

In Maharashtra, 12 BJP MLAs had been suspended for one year for "gross disorderly conduct" during the assembly proceedings on July 5, 2021. However, the Supreme Court had quashed the one-year suspension on January 28, 2022, deeming it "unconstitutional" and stating that such prolonged suspensions could impact democratic setups and leave the constituencies unrepresented.