The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to suspend its 14 MLAs who attended the Haveri rally of the former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa.
According to sources in the BJP, the party is consulting legal experts on the issue.
“As a first step in the process of disciplinary action, we may suspend the MLAs. The idea is to prevent these legislators from participating in any of the crucial occasions of voting in the Assembly, including the voting on any no-confidence motion,” they said.
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Meanwhile, BJP State president and Deputy Chief Minister K. S. Eshwarappa told journalists in Shimoga that the party’s core committee, which is meeting in Belgaum on Wednesday, will decide on the disciplinary action to be initiated against the MLAs who attended the rally.
“The BJP has zero tolerance for indiscipline. The MLAs who participated in the Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP) rally will not be spared even if it means losing the government,” he said.
He said the party would also crack whip against its MPs and chairpersons of boards and corporations who attended the rally.
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Interestingly, Mr. Eshwarappa ruled out the possibility of dissolving the Assembly. Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar enjoys the support of all BJP MLAs. Mr. Yeddyurappa’s efforts to destabilise the government will not succeed, he said and challenged the former Chief Minister to prove his might by asking the 14 MLAs to quit their Assembly membership.
Seeking to play down the political impact of the Haveri rally, he said Mr. Yeddyurappa’s claim of enjoying the support of 70 MLAs has been proved false as only 14 MLAs turned up at the rally. The convention has actually disappointed Mr. Yeddyurappa, he maintained.
The BJP will lose its majority in the Assembly if it expels the 14 MLAs as in the Assembly, which presently has 223 members (two seats are vacant), the party has a total strength of 120 members, including the Speaker, nominated member and an Independent member, who has been inducted into the Ministry.