Mysuru: BJP members disqualified from Nanjangud City Municipal Council for defying party whip
Mysuru: The Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru, G. Lakshmikant Reddy, has ordered the disqualification of four BJP members from the Nanjangud City Municipal Council for switching sides and supporting the Congress.
Although the BJP and JD(S) alliance held the majority in the Council, Congress candidate Sreekanthaswamy won the president's post. It was later revealed that four BJP members had violated the party whip and stayed away from voting, which led to Congress gaining an advantage.
The members who were disqualified are Girish Kumar of Ward 1, Gayathri Murugesh of Ward 12, Meenakshi Nagaraj of Ward 22, and Vijayalakshmi Kumar of Ward 27. Their absence during the crucial vote was seen as an act of defection that directly helped the Congress candidate win.
Following this, BJP’s Nanjangud city president Siddaraju and party member Deva had submitted a complaint to the Deputy Commissioner on October 29, 2024.
After conducting an inquiry, the Deputy Commissioner’s court ruled that the four members had violated the anti-defection law and ordered their disqualification from the Council.
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Governor’s speech row: CM Siddaramaiah cites “Vartha Bharathi” editorial in assembly
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday cited an editorial published in the Kannada daily Vartha Bharathi during the Assembly session. The Chief Minister was responding to a debate in the assembly held over the Governor's address to the joint session of both Houses of the State Legislature.
On January 22, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot declined to read the customary address prepared by the government and made a two-line address before walking out on the first day of the State legislature session, triggering a major political row.
After the House reconvened following the lunch break, Speaker U.T. Khader gave CM Siddaramaiah the opportunity to respond to the debate on the motion of thanks to the Governor’s address. In his reply, the Chief Minister said the Governor left in haste without reading the full speech prepared by the government. He also pointed out that the Governor did not include the phrase “Jai Samvidhana” (Hail Constitution) and did not wait until the completion of the national anthem, stating that such conduct was inappropriate.
Referring to editorials published in various state dailies, the Chief Minister specifically cited Vartha Bharathi’s editorial dated January 23.
He said Governor Gehlot’s conduct during the January 22 session was not in keeping with the dignity of the constitutional office. Qouting the editorial the CM said, “the Governor appeared to act as though decisions and resolutions of the elected government required approval from him or the Central government, undermining the federal structure. Such actions violated the spirit of the Constitution and further fueled the already existing conflict between the Centre and the state."
Is Vartha Bharathi part of the government's cabinet? : V. Sunil Kumar
In the meantime, BJP MLA V. Sunil Kumar intervened the CM and questioned whether Vartha Bharathi was part of the government’s Cabinet.
Siddaramaiah responded saying, “no representatives of the newspaper were associated with the Congress party.”
Supporting the CM's statement and taking a jab at the BJP MLA, Minister Byrathi Suresh added, “None of Vartha Bharati’s representatives are there in our Cabinet. The editor of another newspaper was a member of your (BJP) party.”
