Karnataka GUV meets PM over MLA crisis

Karnataka Governor HR Bharadwaj on Saturday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here to discuss the political crisis over MLA disqualification in the state.

According to reports, Bharadwaj visited Singh at his residence on Saturday after the Supreme Court quashed disqualification of 16 Karanataka MLAs.

?Immediate action will be taken once I receive the judgement. The Supreme Court verdict proves that the Speaker was wrong. I will wait till Monday before taking a decision,? Bharadwaj told reporters after meeting the PM.

Graft-accused Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, who had managed to scrape through a controversial trust vote thanks to the suspensions of certain legislators might be in for fresh trouble after the Supreme Court overturned the layoffs on Friday.

The Supreme Court ruling came after the Karnataka High Court on Feb 14 upheld the decision of the state Assembly Speaker to disqualify five Independent legislators under the anti-defection law.

The new verdict sent tremors in the B S Yeddyurappa cabinet since it paves the way for the state?s BJP government to be put on the edge of a cliff and perhaps be led to another trust vote for the chief minister, already battling land scam slur and other problems.

The five MLAs besides 11 others from ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were suspended in October last year before B S Yeddyurappa’s trust vote, which he had won.

While the MLAs had contended that they were independent legislators, BJP said they had joined their party and attended legislature party meetings.

Speaker K G Bopaiah, hours before vote of confidence moved by Chief Minster B S Yeddyurappa to prove his majority in the House on Oct 11 last year, had sacked the 16 MLAs- 11 of BJP and the five Independents.

Bhardwaj, not satisfied with the process of voice vote method vote of confidence in the absence of 16 “rebel” lawmakers, had asked Yeddyurappa to seek trust vote within 72 hours and the BJP ruled coalition won it by 106 against 100 votes.