Rebel JD(S) MLA AH Vishwanath, one of the legislators the Karnataka Speaker disqualified on Sunday, called the decision “against the law” and said he and the other affected legislators would approach the Supreme Court on Monday.

Vishwanath’s argument

Speaking from an undisclosed location, Vishwanath argued that legislators could not be compelled to attend the House merely because a whip had been issued. He said the Speaker had disqualified 20 members of the legislature for failing to attend, and that they would challenge the ruling before the Supreme Court.

The disqualifications came a day before Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa was due to face a trust vote in the Assembly.

Earlier disqualifications

Earlier in the week, Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar had disqualified three rebel Congress MLAs (R Shankar, Ramesh Jarkiholi and Mahesh Kumathalli) under the anti-defection law. At a press conference in Bengaluru, he held that their resignations were “not voluntary and genuine” and disqualified them with immediate effect until the end of the current House’s term in 2023.

Kumar said the three had breached the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which contains the anti-defection law, and made clear they would be unable to contest or be elected until the present Assembly’s term expires.

Background

The current Assembly was elected in 2018. In the 15 May 2018 count, the BJP won 104 of 224 seats, the Congress 78 and the JD(S) 37, and HD Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) became Chief Minister on 23 May 2018 with Congress support.

See also: Janata Dal (Secular) | State assembly members

Originally published on 29 July 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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