SC verdict moral victory for rebel MLAs: Yeddyurappa
Bengaluru, Jul 17: Karnataka BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa Wednesday welcomed the Supreme court order on the political crisis, asserting that it was a "moral victory" for the rebel MLAs, whose resignations have pushed the ruling Congress-JDS coalition to the brink of collapse.
Yeddyurappa underlined that the political parties cannot issue a whip to the 15 rebel lawmakers, who have resigned their Assembly membership, and they cannot be compelled to attend the House proceedings.
The apex court gave its verdict keeping all the facts about Karnataka in mind, he said.
Against this backdrop, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy will have to resign on Thursday when he will face the confidence vote in the Assembly, Yeddyurappa told reporters here.
"When there is no majority, he (chief minister) will automatically resign tomorrow," he said.
The BJP president also emphasised that the speaker has been directed to take a decision at the earliest and submit his order to the Supreme Court.
"I welcome the Supreme Court decision. It is a victory of the Constitution and democracy. It is a moral victory for rebel MLAs.
"It is only an interim order and in the future, the SC will decide the power of the speaker. It will set a new trend in the parliamentary democracy," Yeddyurappa said.
The Supreme Court directed on Wednesday that the 15 rebel Congress and JD(S) MLAs "ought not" to be compelled to take part in the proceedings of the Karnataka Assembly, which is slated to decide the confidence motion moved by the H D Kumaraswamy-led state government on July 18.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi also said Karnataka Assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar was free to decide on the resignations of the rebel legislators within such time-frame as deemed appropriate by him.
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Actor Ranveer Singh receives threat
Mumbai (PTI): Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh received a threat through WhatsApp from unidentified persons, police said on Tuesday.
Security around his residence was increased after Singh received a threat through a voice note and approached police, an official said.
The threat to the `Dhurandhar' star came days after an incident of firing outside the residence of filmmaker Rohit Shetty in the city.
Police suspect that members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang could be behind the threat to Ranveer with the purpose of extortion, the official said. The crime branch of Mumbai Police has launched a probe, he added.
Besides Mumbai Police personnel, private guards too have been deployed at the housing society in Central Mumbai where the actor lives.
On Tuesday, the society's managing committee approached police and expressed concern over the deployment of guards. "Since these armed guards are frequently moving with weapons in common areas such as the lobby, gymnasium and children's play area, the society managing committee has expressed serious concern regarding the safety and comfort of other residents," they said in a letter.
Recently, an unidentified shooter had fired five rounds at filmmaker Rohit Shetty's residence in Juhu.
Lawrence Bishnoi gang member Shubham Lonkar, who has been absconding, purportedly took responsibility for the firing. Five men have been arrested in the case.
