Bengaluru, Mar 9: Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar said he will soon write to chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, requesting him to expedite the process of setting up a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the poaching audio clip controversy involving BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa and others.
“I presume Kumaraswamy could not focus on this issue because he was pre-occupied with the groundwork for Lok Sabha elections,” Kumar told reporters on Friday. “I will write to him and remind him of the urgency of forming the SIT.”
On a suggestion from Kumar, Kumaraswamy had announced on the floor of the House on February 11 that he will constitute an SIT. Kumar was miffed since one BJP leader involved in the poaching exercise was caught on tape allegedly saying the speaker had accepted a bribe of “Rs 50 crore” to accept resignations of the coalition MLAs without hassle.
“I cannot carry this blemish on my head forever,” Kumar had said in the assembly, while advocating the necessity for a probe. “Please ensure the investigation is conducted by SIT and completed within 15 days.”
The audio clip, released by the CM to the media on February 8, has purported conversations between Yeddyurappa, Shivanagouda Naik (BJP MLA from Devadurga), and Sharanagouda Kandakur, son of JD(S) MLA Naganagouda Kandakur. Yeddyurapp and Naik purportedly try to lure the JD(S) leader by promising huge amounts of money and a minister’s post if he got his father to resign from the assembly and he (Sharanagouda) contest on the bypoll on a BJP ticket.
Kumar also said he will not take “a hasty decision” on Chincholi MLA Umesh Jadhav’s resignation and will seek legal opinion if necessary to ensure that it does not set a bad precedent.
Jadhav resigned on March 4, but Kumar is yet to accept his resignation as a Congress petition for his disqualification is pending since February 11. Siddaramaiah, Congress legislature party (CLP) leader, had sought legal action against Jadhav under the anti-defection law for defying a whip by abstaining from two CLP meetings on January 18 and February 8 and skipping five days of the assembly budget session.
After submitting his resignation to the speaker in person, Jadhav joined the BJP in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a party rally recently. He plans to contest against Congress leader Mallikarjuna M Kharge in the forthcoming Lok Sabha election from Kalaburagi seat.
The speaker said he has already served notice to Jadhav to explain reasons for his resignation and has given him a week’s time to clarify his position.
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